HHS said this test would “save personal protective equipment.” But Abbott’s very design ― devised for mobile testing — means those working with specimens need even more protection, experts warn. (Rachana Pradhan,
4/23)

Dr. Nora Volkow, who heads the National Institute on Drug Abuse, details how emerging science points to added challenges for these patient populations and the public health system. (Shefali Luthra,
4/24)

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Summaries Of The News:

As of Friday morning the U.S. crossed the grim 50,000 death mark, though many experts think that's an undercount. On California's worst day of the pandemic so far, COVID-19 became Los Angeles County's leading cause of death.

The Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Nears 50,000
The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus pandemic neared 50,000 as Congress approved fresh relief funds for small businesses hit by lockdowns that have forced millions of Americans out of work. Confirmed coronavirus cases world-wide Friday exceeded 2.7 million, with more than 190,000 dead, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. accounted for nearly a third of the cases, exceeding 869,000, and more than a quarter of the deaths, at 49,963, according to Johns Hopkins. (Craymer, 4/24)

The Wall Street Journal:
California Daily Death Toll Reaches Record High
The daily coronavirus death toll in California reached a new high as New York state revealed results of a study suggesting that more than 1 in 5 people in New York City may have been infected. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said 115 people died from complications from the virus Wednesday, the state’s deadliest day since the pandemic began. (Ansari, De Avila and Norman, 4/23)

Los Angeles Times:
L.A. Coronavirus Deaths Near 800, Leading Cause Of Death
Los Angeles County health officials on Thursday announced that COVID-19 — the illness caused by the coronavirus — has become the leading cause of death in the county, surpassing fatalities from flu, emphysema and heart disease. Barbara Ferrer, the county’s public health director, confirmed 68 new coronavirus-linked deaths, bringing the total to just under 800 since the outbreak began. The county also reported 1,081 new COVID-19 cases — pushing the overall number to 17,508. (Fry and Money, 4/23)

Boston Globe:
58 Newton Residents Who Tested Positive For Coronavirus Have Died
The number of Newton residents who tested positive for the coronavirus and died has more than doubled since last week, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller reported Wednesday, while the number of cases in the city grew by over 100. As of Tuesday night, 58 Newton residents who had cases of COVID-19 have died, up from 25 on April 14, she said. (Hilliard, 4/23)

"The whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute, that’s pretty powerful," President Donald Trump said in a press briefing where he also offered a suggestion that disinfectant could be injected into the body to fight the virus. Scientists knock down the idea as dangerous and potentially fatal. Other news reports on the public's opinion of information delivered by the president.

The New York Times:
Trump Asks If Sunlight Can Kill Viruses. ‘Not As A Treatment,’ Birx Says.
President Trump has long pinned his hopes on the powers of sunlight to defeat the Covid-19 virus. On Thursday, he returned to that theme at the daily White House coronavirus briefing, bringing in a top administration scientist to back up his assertions and eagerly theorizing — dangerously, in the view of some experts — about the powers of sunlight, ultraviolet light and household disinfectants to kill the coronavirus. After the scientist, William N. Bryan, the head of science at the Department of Homeland Security, told the briefing that the government had tested how sunlight and disinfectants — including bleach and alcohol — can kill the coronavirus on surfaces in as little as 30 seconds, an excited Mr. Trump returned to the lectern. (Broad and Levin, 4/24)

The Associated Press:
Trump Showcases Idea Heat, Humidity Could Help Fight Virus
The White House is pitching “emerging” research on the benefits of sunlight and humidity in diminishing the threat of the coronavirus as President Donald Trump encourages states to move to reopen their economies. Past studies have not found good evidence that the warmer temperatures and higher humidity of spring and summer will help tamp down the spread of the virus. But William Bryan of the Department of Homeland Security said at a White House briefing Thursday that there are “emerging results” from new research that suggest solar light has a powerful effect in killing the virus on surfaces and in the air. (Freking, 4/24)

Politico:
Trump Promotes Theory Suggesting Sunlight Can Kill Coronavirus
“It would be irresponsible for us to say that we feel the summer will totally kill the virus,” Bryan said. “This is just another tool in our tool belt. Another weapon in the fight that we can add to it and in the summer, we know that summer-like conditions are going to create an environment where the transmission can be decreased and that's an opportunity for us to get ahead.” (Ehley, 4/23)

Reuters:
Sunlight, Heat And Humidity Weaken Coronavirus, U.S. Official Says
The findings could bolster hopes that the coronavirus will mimic the behavior of other respiratory diseases like influenza, which typically are less contagious in warm weather. But the coronavirus has also proven lethal in warm-weather places like Singapore, raising broader questions about the impact of environmental factors. President Donald Trump said the findings should be interpreted cautiously, but also claimed vindication for previously suggesting that the coronavirus might recede in summer. “I once mentioned that maybe it does go away with heat and light. And people didn’t like that statement that much,” he said at the briefing. (Holland and Sullivan, 4/23)

The Washington Post:
White House Touts Lab Study Showing Coronavirus Vulnerability To Summer Weather
The weather is no panacea when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, considering that warm states, such as Georgia and Florida, already are seeing significant outbreaks, as are warm and humid countries, including Singapore. Even if the virus were to wane during the summer, a dreaded second wave would still be likely in the fall, as has happened with past pandemic flu outbreaks. Earlier this month, a panel convened by the National Academies of Sciences reported to the White House that the pandemic is unlikely to wane substantially with the arrival of summer, though there are many uncertainties remaining. The new lab study, which is directed toward the same NAS group and the White House science adviser, may help reduce some of those uncertainties. (Freedman and Samenow, 4/23)

The Washington Post:
Trump Rebuked By Doctors After Asking If Disinfectants Can Be Injected To Kill Coronavirus In People
After a presentation Thursday that touched on the disinfectants that can kill the novel coronavirus on surfaces and in the air, President Trump pondered whether those chemicals could be used to fight the virus inside the human body. “I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute,” Trump said during Thursday’s coronavirus press briefing. “And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets inside the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.” (Chiu and Shepherd, 4/24)

CNN:
Fact Check: Trump Wrongly Suggests Sunlight Could Help Cure Coronavirus
On Thursday, President Donald Trump added to his list of dubious or inaccurate coronavirus-related medical claims, wrongly suggesting at a White House briefing that sunlight could possibly be used to treat people who have the virus. Trump also issued a false denial when asked why he has stopped promoting the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment, incorrectly saying, "I haven't at all." He referred to how "we started with a broken test" without explaining that the faulty initial test was created during his presidency, this year. (Dale, McDermott, Cohen, Vazquez, Steck and Fossum, 4/23)

The Associated Press:
AP-NORC Poll: Few Americans Trust Trump's Info On Pandemic
President Donald Trump has made himself the daily spokesman for the nation’s coronavirus response. Yet few Americans regularly look to or trust Trump as a source of information on the pandemic, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Just 28% of Americans say they’re regularly getting information from Trump about the coronavirus and only 23% say they have high levels of trust in what the president is telling the public. Another 21% trust him a moderate amount. (Pace and Fingerhut, 4/24)

The Hill:
Poll: 60 Percent Of Americans Think Trump Should Listen More To Health Experts
A total of 60 percent of Americans think President Trump should listen to health experts more, according to a poll released Thursday. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that a majority those polled disapprove of the president’s management of the coronavirus pandemic, with 6 in 10 saying they think he should pay more attention to health professionals’ advice. (Coleman, 4/23)

Kaiser Health News:
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Whom Do We Trust For COVID Info?
Congress is approving still more money to address the health and economic fallout of the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. But the pandemic rages on ― claiming a disproportionate number of lives among staff and residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, and jeopardizing the lives and livelihoods of health care providers and patients alike with problems not related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. And the messaging from the White House is getting even more confusing as President Donald Trump and his science advisers seem to have different playbooks. (4/23)

The New York Times:
Trump And The Coronavirus: A Sour President, Home Alone At The White House
President Trump arrives in the Oval Office these days as late as noon, when he is usually in a sour mood after his morning marathon of television. He has been up in the White House master bedroom as early as 5 a.m. watching Fox News, then CNN, with a dollop of MSNBC thrown in for rage viewing. He makes calls with the TV on in the background, his routine since he first arrived at the White House. But now there are differences. (Rogers and Karni, 4/23)

CNN:
Deaf Americans Are Urging The White House To Use Sign Language Interpreters At Coronavirus Briefings
The US Census Bureau estimates that about 11.5 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss. Yet months into the coronavirus pandemic, the White House still does not have American Sign Language interpreters at its televised public health press briefings. Many in the Deaf community say they are growing wary of not having important information disseminated to them through qualified sign language interpreters. (Campisi, 4/23)

Some outside experts are concerned that administration scientists must tip-toe around President Donald Trump as they offer their medical expert advice to the American people. Claims from one federal official that he was ousted because he pushed back against Trump's favored treatment did nothing to ease those worrying impressions.

The Associated Press:
Doctors Struggle To Stay True To Science But Not Cross Trump
It’s becoming a kind of daily ritual: President Donald Trump and a phalanx of doctors file into the White House briefing room each evening to discuss the coronavirus, producing a display of rhetorical contortions as the medical officials try to stay true to the science without crossing the president. The result can be a bewildering scene for Americans trying to understand how best to protect themselves from the virus. (Riechmann, Madhani and Lemire, 4/24)

The Hill:
On The Trail: Trump's Demands For Loyalty Extend To Scientists
The Trump administration's decision to sideline one of the government’s top vaccine specialists at the height of a global coronavirus pandemic has shocked scientists and science advocates who say the president is placing a greater value on loyalty to himself than on the facts and data that could save lives. The administration this week forced out Rick Bright, the head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and an acting deputy assistant secretary of Health and Human Services for preparedness and response. (Wilson, 4/23)

Stat:
Why Was A Bureaucrat Part Of Trump's Hydroxychloroquine Authorization?
Rick Bright, an otherwise unknown federal bureaucrat, burst onto the political stage this week with allegations that the Trump White House put politics ahead of science to advance an untested malaria drug as a coronavirus treatment — explosive claims that beg the question: Why was Bright involved in decisions about the drug at all? (Florko, 4/24)

Los Angeles Times:
Scientist Felt Pressured To OK Contract For Work On Drug Trump Touted
The federal scientist recently ousted from a senior position overseeing research on coronavirus vaccines felt pressured by Trump administration officials to award a $21-million contract to a Florida laboratory to study an anti-malaria drug touted by the president as a COVID-19 treatment, according to a person familiar with the incident. Rick Bright, who was abruptly removed this week from his senior post at the Department of Health and Human Services, was told by officials to approve the contract for a clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine to Alchem Laboratories, a small drug-development firm, the person said. (Cloud and Healy, 4/23)

Politico:
Trump Team Wanted 'Nationwide' Access To Malaria Drugs, Ousted Vaccine Chief Claims
The Trump administration pushed for nationwide access to a malaria drug touted by President Donald Trump as a Covid-19 treatment “with limited physician oversight,” according to a person familiar with the allegations of Dr. Rick Bright, the HHS vaccine chief who was ousted from his position earlier this week. Bright felt such a move was dangerous and responded by pushing for more clinical trials, the person said, but, under pressure from his superiors in the health department, eventually agreed to sign off on an emergency use authorization that allowed the Trump administration to acquire tens of millions of doses of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine and distribute the medicines to some patients hospitalized for Covid-19. (Diamond, 4/23)

CNN:
Bright's Ouster Shines Light On Months Of HHS Turmoil
Bright's decision to go public is now exposing months of turmoil inside one of the key divisions at the Department of Health and Human Services charged with responding to the coronavirus pandemic. His allegations raise serious questions about political bias creeping into the government's response to the pandemic and the extent to which Trump's preferences for a drug overshadowed its scientific merits. (Diamond, Collins and Hoye, 4/23)

For contact tracing alone, a recent report estimated 100,000 additional contact tracers are needed to keep the virus in check. That effort would require an estimated $3.6 billion in national emergency funding, as a starting point. And those figures don't account for what states also need for testing programs, health officials say. In other news: a saliva-based test, the need for real-time reporting, nerves at the drive-thru line, contact tracing on a tribal reservation and more.

The Washington Post:
Feds Make $631 Million Available To States To Pay For Coronavirus Testing, Contact Tracing
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that it is sending $631 million to state and local health departments to increase their capacity to do contact tracing and testing for the novel coronavirus — a fraction of what many officials say they need to safely restart their economies. State and local health officials are also pressing to use this moment to build back up public health capacities that they say have been insufficient for years. (Wan, 4/23)

The Hill:
Fauci: US Needs To 'Significantly Ramp Up' Testing
Anthony Fauci, the administration's top infectious diseases expert, said Thursday that the United States needs to "significantly ramp up" its testing capacity in order to effectively contain the coronavirus as blunt measures like stay-at-home orders are eased. "I agree you don't need to test everybody, but you should at least be able to test the people in which you have to test to be able to do containment, and right now I think there's still some gaps there," Fauci said in an interview with Time magazine. "I mean, on paper it might look OK, but we absolutely need to significantly ramp up not only the number of tests, but the capacity to actually perform them." (Sullivan, 4/23)

The Hill:
Trump Says He Disagrees With Fauci On Testing Capabilities
President Trump said Thursday he disagreed with Anthony Fauci’s statement that the U.S. does not yet have the testing capacity that it needs to effectively contain the spread of the novel coronavirus as stay-at-home restrictions are relaxed. “No, I don’t agree with him on that. I think we are doing a great job on testing,” Trump told reporters at a White House briefing Thursday evening when asked about Fauci’s recent remarks in a Time magazine interview. “If he said that, I don’t agree with him,” Trump continued. (Chalfant, 4/23)

Politico:
Rutgers’ Saliva-Based Covid Test Could Be Key To Unlocking New Jersey’s Economy
New Jersey officials are hoping a saliva-based test developed by Rutgers University will soon allow tens of thousands of state residents a day to be tested for coronavirus. The test, which was touted by President Donald Trump during a press briefing late last week, could allow New Jersey to roughly triple its current daily testing capacity, potentially putting the state on track to lift elements of a stay-at-home order officials believe has saved tens of thousands of lives at tremendous economic cost. (Sutton, 4/23)

The Hill:
Romney, Sinema Request CDC Develop Real-Time Reporting Method: US Is 'Behind The Curve'
Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) requested the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) develop a method of real-time national reporting of coronavirus cases, saying they worry the U.S. is “behind the curve.” The two senators submitted a letter to CDC Director Robert Redfield asking the federal agency to modernize its reporting capabilities, saying its current “significant” efforts “may not be enough to equip us to respond as fast as is required.” They wrote that real-time national reporting is needed to measure the “size and scope of the COVID-19 outbreak,” especially as states like Georgia and Oklahoma move to reopen. (Coleman, 4/23)

The Associated Press:
Fear For Themselves And Families On Drive-Thru Testing Lines
They climb into their cars in the middle of the night, racing to get on a line from which they may be turned away. Feeling sick and stressed, people in the states hardest hit by the coronavirus have continued to stream into drive-thru testing sites, hoping to get guidance about whether to seek treatment, or reassurance that they aren’t infected. (Mahoney and Wenig, 4/23)

NPR:
Navajo Nation Sees High Rate Of COVID-19
After New York and New Jersey, the place with the highest coronavirus infection rate in the U.S. is the Navajo Nation. Dr. Deborah Birx of the national task force told the White House press corps the tribe is using strike teams to address the issue. "They're really doing amazing work at their public health institutions with their governors and their mayors," Birx says. "They are in full contact tracing." (Moarles, 4/24)

Kaiser Health News:
Abbott’s Fast COVID Test Poses Safety Issues, Lab Workers Say
Lab personnel say worries are mounting over the safety of a rapid coronavirus test by Abbott Laboratories that President Donald Trump has repeatedly lauded ― particularly, the risk of infection to those handling it. Trump and federal health officials have promoted the ease with which the Abbott test can be given to patients, whether at a drive-thru site or a doctor’s office. Another selling point: The test could “save personal protective equipment (PPE),” according to the Department of Health and Human Services. (Pradhan, 4/23)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the World Health Organization, which President Donald Trump targeted in recent weeks, needs a "structural fix" for its "shortcomings" before the U.S. would consider resuming funding. Critics of the Trump administration say the president is unfairly scapegoating the global organization as a way to shift blame from his administration's early missteps. Meanwhile, the United States' response to the pandemic may have undermined its position as a global leader.

Reuters:
Pompeo Says U.S. May Never Restore WHO Funds After Cutoff Over Pandemic
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the COVID-19 pandemic shows the need to overhaul the World Health Organization, warning that Washington may never restore WHO funding and could even work to set up an alternative to the U.N. body instead. As Pompeo launched fresh attacks on the WHO, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives accused the Trump administration of trying to “scapegoat” the institution to distract from its own handling of the coronavirus outbreak. In a letter to President Donald Trump, they called for the immediate restoration of U.S. funding, which Trump suspended last week after accusing the WHO of being “China-centric” and of promoting China’s “disinformation” about the outbreak. (Brunnstrom and Pamuk, 4/23)

The Hill:
Trump Escalates WHO Fight By Redirecting Funds To Other Groups
The U.S. is starting to shift its World Health Organization (WHO) contributions to other health-focused groups, marking an escalation in President Trump’s fight with the WHO. The move is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to punish the WHO after suspending payments to the global health body pending a “review” of its response to the coronavirus pandemic. (Kelly, 4/23)

The Associated Press:
Coronavirus Shakes The Conceit Of ‘American Exceptionalism’
What if the real “invisible enemy” is the enemy from within — America’s very institutions? When the coronavirus pandemic came from distant lands to the United States, it was met with cascading failures and incompetencies by a system that exists to prepare, protect, prevent and cut citizens a check in a national crisis. The molecular menace posed by the new coronavirus has shaken the conceit of “American exceptionalism” like nothing big enough to see with your own eyes. (Woodward, 4/24)

In a moment where people want to believe there's a magic pill to cure COVID-19, scammers are flourishing. Other news from the Trump administration looks at the coronavirus being used as a possible bioweapon and and increase in violent extremism.

NPR:
As Fraudsters Exploit Pandemic Fears, Justice Department Looks To Crack Down
The coronavirus pandemic has brought out the good side of many Americans, but certainly not all Americans. Officials say that fraud related to COVID-19 — like hoarding equipment, price gouging and hawking fake treatments — are spreading as the country wrestles with the outbreak. "It's a perfect ecosystem for somebody like a fraudster to operate in," said Craig Carpenito, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey and the head of the Justice Department's COVID-19 price gouging and hoarding task force. (Lucas, 4/24)

ABC News:
DOJ Moves To Shutdown Sham Coronavirus Therapies Amid 'Hundreds' Of Online Scams
The Justice Department is raising an alarm over what it says are a growing number of scammers promoting fraudulent COVID-19 treatments, with federal prosecutors in Texas moving to stop an "ozone therapy" company from allegedly promoting a novel coronavirus cure. According to a Wednesday court filing, the group Purity Health and Wellness Centers used posts on its Instagram page as far back as January to model its ozone therapies, an alternative treatment that purports to increase the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream, as an effective way to prevent contracting COVID-19. (Mallin, 4/23)

Politico:
DHS Warns Of Increase In Violent Extremism Amid Coronavirus Lockdowns
Domestic terrorists and violent extremists are mobilizing in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and the threat could get more severe “until the virus is contained and the normal routine of U.S. societal life resumes,” according to a Department of Homeland Security intelligence note sent to law enforcement officials around the country. The memo, dated April 23 and obtained by POLITICO, cites recent arrests of individuals who have threatened government facilities and elected officials over the health restrictions that have been imposed to stop the spread of Covid-19. (Bertrand, 4/23)

Politico:
Officials Probe The Threat Of A Coronavirus Bioweapon
The Pentagon and the intelligence community are more forcefully investigating the possibility that adversaries could use the novel coronavirus as a bioweapon, according to defense and intelligence officials, in a shift that reflects the national security apparatus’ evolving understanding of the virus and its risks. Officials emphasized that the change does not mean they believe the virus was purposefully created to be weaponized—the intelligence community is still investigating the virus’ potential origins, but there is currently no hard intelligence or scientific evidence to support the theory that it spread from a lab in China, people briefed on the matter said. (Bertrand, Lippman and Seligman, 4/23)

The new federal Bureau of Prisons' standard makes early release possible for inmates who served at least 25% of their sentence and have less than 18 months remaining on their term. Outbreak developments from a Virginia youth correctional center and Massachusetts, Missouri and Oklahoma prisons are also reported.

Politico:
Feds Again Shift Guidance On Prisoner Releases Due To Coronavirus
Federal prison authorities have again changed the criteria used to consider inmates for early release, with the latest move broadening the set of prisoners eligible to be sent home on account of the dangers posed by the coronavirus. Just days after many inmates who had been in pre-release quarantine were stunned to be told they did not qualify due to a policy change, the Bureau of Prisons issued new guidance saying at least some of those prisoners could be considered for home confinement. (Gerstein, 4/23)

WBUR:
Sheriff: Coronavirus Should Not Mean Release Of People In Jail For Addiction Treatment
Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi says the men held at his jail for addiction treatment should stay there, despite the coronavirus pandemic. Cocchi is pushing back against a class action lawsuit seeking to reduce the number of people in correctional facilities because of COVID-19. That includes those civilly committed by a judge to addiction treatment, but who haven't committed any crimes. (Becker, 4/23)

The New York Times:
Coronavirus Freed A Man Accused Of Fleeing The Scene Of A Fatal Accident
Her cellphone buzzed with a new text message, and Tracy Fehrenbacher grew furious. An alert from the circuit court notified her that the man accused of a hit-and-run that left her daughter dead was being released from a St. Louis jail. A day later, Anthony Cromwell Sr. got a phone call from someone he had not heard from in a while. “Hey, Daddy,” said his son, who had been facing felony charges but had been released from confinement as part of an effort to protect inmates from the coronavirus. “Happy, happy,” the elder Mr. Cromwell said, describing his reaction. (Eligon, 4/24)

Politico:
A Republican Crusader Takes On Oklahoma’s Prison Machine
On Valentine’s Day, some seven years after leaving the state Capitol as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, Kris Steele watched an old man in a purple shirt pee into a cup. “Do you have any special plans for today?” Steele asked the man as he stood vigil a few feet away in the worn yellow bathroom of The Education and Employment Ministry. Steele, a boyish looking 46, runs TEEM, a street-level nonprofit in downtown Oklahoma City that helps felons reenter society with job training, life skills and drug testing. Here, even the director snaps on blue latex gloves for urinalysis duty. (Schulte, 4/23)

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) set his state on an aggressive path toward reopening that starts today, despite a barrage of criticism that the decision to lift restrictions is premature. Meanwhile, states that haven't been hit has hard as some of the hot spots start considering how to reopen.

The Washington Post:
‘Complete Disbelief’: Governors Blindside Front-Line Staff With Abrupt Reopening Plans
Governors preparing to roll back restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus are in some cases acting without the input and against the wishes of their own medical and emergency management staff. Georgia’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, announced he would let tattoo parlors, hair salons and bowling alleys reopen without receiving guidance from the panel of doctors tapped to advise him and without giving advance notice to regional health departments responsible for carrying out his orders, according to physicians and state officials. (Stanley-Becker and Weiner, 4/23)

NPR:
Coronavirus Latest: Georgia Reopens Despite Not Meeting White House Benchmarks
Georgia's confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths from COVID-19 are still steadily rising, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (which happens to be based in Atlanta) describes community spread coronavirus as "widespread" in the state. That goes against all the principles laid out in the guidelines. Measured against other states, Georgia is nowhere near the bottom for cases — it has actually had the 12th most over the past three weeks. (Montanaro, 4/24)

CNN:
Georgia: Gov. Brian Kemp Reopening Hair Salons, Gyms And Tattoo Parlors Despite A Rising Coronavirus Death Toll
Undeterred by a barrage of criticism, Georgia is moving ahead with its plan to reopen some nonessential businesses despite an increase in coronavirus deaths statewide. Gov. Brian Kemp was one of the last state leaders to issue a stay-at-home order effective April 3 to combat the spread of the deadly coronavirus. This week, he became one of the nation's first governors to ease those restrictions after he allowed businesses such as gyms, barber shops, hair salons, tattoo parlors and bowling alleys to reopen Friday. (Karimi, 4/24)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
‘Confused And Scared’: Georgians Frustrated Over Shifting Virus Data
As Gov. Brian Kemp moves to re-open the economy, researchers and ordinary Georgians are turning to the state Department of Public Health’s published data on coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths to draw their own conclusions on if it’s safe to return to barber shops and restaurants. ...Wednesday’s DPH count shows that new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus jumped by more than 900 in a single day. Another count it released at the same time used a different method and showed they only rose by 31. (Mariano, 4/23)

Roll Call:
Ruin And Resilience: How My South Georgia Home Is Fighting Through Coronavirus Trauma
Brooks Robinson got a phone call from his cousin Jennifer. She couldn’t stop screaming. “She’s gone. She’s gone,” she yelled into the phone. Jennifer was calling to tell him their 34-year-old cousin Santayana Harris had just died of pneumonia, a symptom of COVID-19. He couldn’t believe it. Just a day earlier, he’d lost another cousin, Flora Robinson, to the same virus. It was a second blow, but not the last. (McGrady, 4/23)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Quarter Of A Million More Georgians File Jobless Claims
Nearly a quarter of a million more Georgians filed jobless claims last week, the state Department of Labor said Thursday, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the economy. That brings the total number of workers in the state who have filed for unemployment benefits to about 1.1 million over the past month, more than 1 in 5 Georgia workers. (Kanell, 4/23)

The Wall Street Journal:
When Is It Safe To Go Back To Normal? States Weigh Benchmarks.
The Trump administration laid out a three-phase plan for reopening the country, and states such as Georgia, Texas and Ohio have moved to loosen restrictions. But lifting lockdowns too early will bring the coronavirus roaring back, health experts say. The country still lacks a number of measures that must be in place before it is safe to go back to some new version of normal, experts say. These include enough testing to identify new cases quickly, an army of public-health workers to find and help those who have come into contact with the new cases, and places to quarantine new cases to choke off nascent outbreaks as restrictions lift. (McKay and Abbott, 4/23)

Houston Chronicle:
Houston Not Ready To Reopen Businesses, Health Leaders Say
Houston health leaders are putting in place a nuanced coronavirus reopening strategy that probably points to sometime in mid-May as a realistic commencement, roughly 10 days later than the start date Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to announce Monday. The leaders pointedly dismissed talk of dates, instead emphasizing certain benchmarks — the number of coronavirus cases, the availability of diagnostic tests and the capacity to conduct contact tracing — that need to improve significantly before the Houston region would be able to manage continuing cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. (Ackerman, 4/24)

There's a political divide over who is pushing states to reopen and who is keeping stay-at-home orders in place. President Donald Trump's own messaging has been mixed. While he has pushed for a quick return to normalcy, he also criticized the Georgia governor's aggressive plan to reopen as "too soon."

The New York Times:
‘I Wasn’t Happy With Brian Kemp,’ Trump Says
When Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia announced this week that he would soon allow restaurants, barbershops and other businesses to reopen, the Republican governor’s plan seemed in tune with a president who had openly encouraged protesters of social distancing restrictions. And the president did seem pleased. On Tuesday night, Vice President Mike Pence and President Trump, in separate phone calls, each expressed his support for the governor’s coronavirus response, said an official familiar with the calls who was unauthorized to speak about the matter. (Fausset and Rojas, 4/23)

The Washington Post:
Mixed Messages And Martial Metaphors: Trump Sows Confusion On Coronavirus About How To Reopen The Country
Trump has issued contradictory advice to Americans and contradictory or inchoate directives to governors, mayors, Congress and the scientists who flank him at daily news briefings intended to showcase his leadership. Much of the confusion surrounds when and how to lift safety restrictions that have closed businesses, schools, parks and casinos as a means of slowing transmission of a virus that has killed nearly 50,000 Americans. On Thursday, the day before barbershops, nail salons and other businesses were to reopen in Georgia over Trump’s objection and against the advice of the task force he empowered to guide the national response, Trump spoke glowingly about states that are reopening. (Gearan, 4/23)

Politico:
Georgia Feud Spotlights Republican Divide Over Reopening Economy
Georgia Rep. Doug Collins is haranguing the state’s governor, Brian Kemp, for pushing to reopen the economy too early. But the feud between Collins and Kemp is only a glimpse of the larger behind-the-scenes battle within the GOP over how far to go when it comes to getting back to some semblance of normalcy. (Levine and Forgey, 4/23)

The Associated Press:
Republicans Leap To Reopen Economy; Democrats More Cautious
Announcing plans to begin reopening his state, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster cited the ongoing economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic. “South Carolina’s business is business,” he declared this week as he lifted restrictions on department stores, florists, music shops and some other businesses that previously had been deemed nonessential. (Kinnard, 4/24)

The Hill:
Coronavirus Culture War Over Reopening Economy Hits Capitol Hill
The brewing culture war over when to reopen the nation’s economy arrived Thursday on Capitol Hill, where Republicans, defying the advice of public health experts, forced lawmakers back to the House chamber to pass legislation that was virtually unopposed. The Republicans’ longing to return to business-as-usual mirrors that coming from President Trump, who is increasingly eager to lift the lifestyle restrictions designed to contain the spread of the deadly pandemic. GOP leaders argued this week that lawmakers should show up to Washington in solidarity with the medical workers, truck drivers, grocery clerks and other service-sector employees deemed essential during the coronavirus crisis. (Marcos and Lillis, 4/23)

The Associated Press:
Swing-State Republicans Pin Virus Fallout On Democrats
With legions out of work, Republicans across the critical battleground states are trying to lay blame for the economic wreckage of the coronavirus outbreak on Democratic governors, ramping up a political strategy that is likely to shape the debate in the run-up to the presidential election. In Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — all three swing states with Democrats in charge — state Republican lawmakers, after an initial detente, have grown fiercely critical of the stay-at-home orders or business shutdowns imposed by governors to limit the spread of the coronavirus, casting them as the work of overzealous, nanny-state Democrats. (Levy, 4/24)

Some high-ranking Republicans have been watching the protests warily and reiterating their own decisions to shelter in place. But as the protests grab national attention, some in the GOP reckon with how a movement that most Americans disagree with will impact the elections. But other state Republican lawmakers are joining the protest efforts. Meanwhile, more polls find that a majority of the country think strict restrictions are worth it.

The Associated Press:
'Republicans Are Nervous': Some In GOP Eye Protests Warily
The latest demonstration by right-wing groups against measures to contain the coronavirus will be held Friday in Wisconsin, where hundreds, and possibly thousands of people plan to descend on the state Capitol to protest the Democratic governor’s stay-home ordinance. It’s expected to be among the biggest of the protests that have popped up around the U.S. in recent days. But as with some earlier events, one group will be noticeably absent: the state’s most prominent Republicans. (Bauer and Burnett, 4/24)

Politico:
How A Tea Party-Linked Group Plans To Turbocharge Lockdown Protests
The Convention of States, an activist network with tea party origins, did not originate the coronavirus lockdown protests across the country. But it’s got a plan to take them to the next level. Publicly, the group claims no affiliation with the organizers agitating for state governments to lift social-distancing measures. Yet behind the scenes and on their social media channels, the group’s leaders have made no secret of their desire to boost the protests, if not elevate them to a bigger, more professionalized and media-friendly network with a more broadly appealing message. (4/24)

The Washington Post:
As Protesters Swarm State Capitols, Much Of The Coronavirus Backlash Is Coming From Within
With hundreds arrayed before him, standing shoulder to shoulder, the retired Army colonel vented his fury from the steps of Pennsylvania’s capitol building. The governor’s orders to shut down businesses in the face of a pandemic, he railed to a crowd of protesters this week, amounted to “tyranny.” He had battled overseas to defend freedom. Now, with the governor telling healthy people like him to stay home — “What the heck is going on here? I’m not sick!” — the fight had come to America’s shores. (Witte, 4/23)

Kaiser Health News:
Anti-Vaccine Activists Latch Onto Coronavirus To Bolster Their Movement
While most of the world hungers for a vaccine to put an end to the death and economic destruction wrought by COVID-19, some anti-vaccine groups are joining with anti-lockdown protesters to challenge restrictions aimed at protecting public health. Vaccine critics suffered serious setbacks in the past year, as states strengthened immunization laws in response to measles outbreaks sparked by vaccine refusers. California tightened its vaccine requirements last fall despite protests during which anti-vaccine activists threw blood on state senators, assaulted the vaccine bill’s sponsor and shut down the legislature. (Szabo, 4/24)

ABC News:
'We Disagree': Medical Professionals Counter Coronavirus Lockdown Protesters
When Dr. Erich Bruhn, a recently retired surgeon from Virginia, saw images of nurses in scrubs standing in a Denver street this week blocking the cars of people circling the state capitol building to protest stay-at-home directives meant to blunt the spread of novel coronavirus, he and his wife, a nurse, say they were inspired to take a similar stand in their state. So when anti-quarantine protesters demanding the economy be reopened staged a similar demonstration on Wednesday outside the Virginia state capitol building, Bruhn and his wife, Kristin, put on their white lab coats and protective masks and headed to Richmond with homemade signs reading, “You have no ‘right’ to put us all at risk. Go Home" and "Sign up here to die for the economy.” (Hutchinson, 4/23)

NPR:
Poll Finds Large Majority Of Americans Support COVID-19 Shutdown
A majority of Americans — 8 in 10 — say strict shelter-in-place guidelines are worth it, to keep people safe from COVID-19 and control the spread of the virus, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll. The same percentage, of around 80% of Americans, also say they can follow the restrictions for at least one more month. Only around 20% of Americans say the broad shelter-in-place measures are an unnecessary burden that is "causing more harm than good," the Kaiser Family Foundation reports. (Chappell, 4/23)

The Hill:
Most Floridians Don't Want State To Reopen Yet, Despite Push From Governor: Poll
Over two thirds of Floridians don’t want to loosen social distancing rules come April 30 despite Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’s push to do so, a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found. Seventy-two percent of respondents said that they are opposed to reopening the state once the governor’s stay-at-home order expires at the end of the month, and 76 percent said they are only comfortable returning to daily life if public health officials say it is safe. (Moreno, 4/23)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Wisconsin Coronavirus Cases Rise, Driven By Brown County Outbreak
Confirmed coronavirus cases in Wisconsin increased by more than 200 for the second day in a row, as the state prepared for the stay-at-home extension to begin and ease some restrictions on businesses. The new COVID-19 cases reported Thursday, a spike attributed to an outbreak in Brown County, pushed the state's total above 5,000, and public health officials said those numbers will continue to rise as testing capacity increases. (Luthern, 4/23)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Coronavirus Patients Report No Contact By Milwaukee Health Department
The process can help identify outbreaks and causes of clusters early. State and local officials have said robust contact tracing that starts within 24 hours of a confirmed case is a key to reopening businesses and relaxing public health orders. Gov. Tony Evers has called for training at least 1,000 more people to work on contact tracing as part of his Badger Bounce Back plan to reopen the economy. (Luthern and Spivak, 4/23)

Des Moines Register:
COVID-19 Hospice Unit Set Up In Des Moines For People Dying Of Coronavirus
A Des Moines hospice agency has set up a special wing for COVID-19 patients, underlining the gravity of Iowa's coronavirus epidemic. The EveryStep agency plans to open a six-bed hospice unit Monday at its east-side Des Moines headquarters. The unit will be tailored for patients dying from the new coronavirus. As of Thursday morning, the state had reported 96 deaths related to the disease. (Leys, 4/23)

San Francisco Chronicle:
‘I Like It’: Bay Area Residents Largely Comply With New Coronavirus Mask Orders
The Bay Area’s collection of health orders was extended to require masks or some type of face covering over the mouth and nose by Wednesday in six counties: San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Sonoma and Marin. Santa Clara, Solano and Napa counties have urged but not required wearing masks. Face coverings do not eliminate the need for social distancing or frequent handwashing, health officials say. The mask mandates are a stark contrast to earlier advice from health experts that masks were only necessary for health care workers and are an indication of how the advice and rules have evolved as scientists learn more about the virus. (Cabanatuan, 4/23)

Sacramento Bee:
Will California Tenants Pay Rent During Eviction Moratorium?
Zoe Kipping, a 30-year-old Sacramento resident, is among the many California renters who find themselves heading toward a historic precipice that threatens to ruin their finances for years to come. Her job doing door-to-door political campaigning ended in March when the governor ordered California to shelter at home to avoid mass infections and deaths from the fast-spreading coronavirus. Kipping’s backup plan, working for the U.S. Census, washed away with the social distancing edict as well. (Bizjak and Clift, 4/23)

The New York Times:
New York Put Recovering Virus Patients In Hotels. Soon, 4 Were Dead.
When Robert Rowe Jr. was discharged from the hospital this month after testing positive for the coronavirus, he needed a place to stay so he would not put his 84-year-old father at risk. New York City health officials put him up at a three-star hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The room was provided under a city program that was intended to protect recovering patients’ families and roommates. Case workers are supposed to check on the patients twice a day by telephone. (Southall and Stewart, 4/24)

Boston Globe:
Mass. Reports New Daily High In Coronavirus Cases Amid Thousands Of Additional Tests
Even before the state announced the latest count of coronavirus cases and deaths, Governor Charlie Baker on Thursday called the cumulative toll “staggering.” “We must remember the people behind these numbers,” he said at his daily press briefing. “They’re our friends and our neighbors, and these people have families and loved ones whose worlds have been shattered by this ruthless virus.” Nonetheless, Baker stressed that the state’s health care system has not been overwhelmed by patients and urged residents to continue to go to hospitals if they need treatment for other serious ailments. (Finucane, Andersen and Moore, 4/23)

WBUR:
Extended Closures Could Mean Some Mass. Day Cares Never Reopen
Day care providers in Massachusetts, already ordered closed since March 23, could struggle to ever reopen unless they can get more aid, according to early childhood advocates. Gov. Charlie Baker announced that schools and non-emergency day care programs would remain closed through June 29. Even as it's the necessary decision for public health, advocates say lengthening the closure puts a strain on an already fragile system of care with thin operating margins. (McNerney, 4/23)

Boston Globe:
Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Registrations Spike 245%
A record-shattering number of Massachusetts residents obtained medical marijuana cards over the past month, a spike that followed Governor Charlie Baker’s decision to deem recreational cannabis stores “nonessential” and close them amid the coronavirus pandemic. From March 23 to April 21, 7,235 new patients obtained a doctor’s recommendation and registered with the state’s medical marijuana program, according to new data provided to the Globe Thursday by the Cannabis Control Commission. (Adams, 4/23)

State House News:
Health Commissioner Describes ‘Frightening’ COVID-19 Battle
Dr. Monica Bharel first thought the aches and pains she started feeling in late March were due to a lack of sleep and the long hours she was putting in as Department of Public Health commissioner in the midst of a pandemic. When her husband told her their daughter had a fever, Bharel started thinking about her own symptoms and was tested for COVID-19 that night, March 26. The next day, as she worked from home, the results came back and the department announced Bharel had tested positive for the respiratory disease. (Lannan, 4/23)

Boston Globe:
Lawmakers File Bill To Let Marijuana Businesses Access Federal Coronavirus Relief Funds
A bill filed Thursday by US Representative Earl Blumenauer and a collection of bipartisan cosponsors would provide small marijuana businesses with access to federal coronavirus relief funds that are available to companies in other industries. The bill — titled the Emergency Cannabis Small Business Health and Safety Act — would make marijuana firms eligible for three Small Business Administration (SBA) services: the Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loans program, and Economic Injury Disaster Loans Emergency Grants program. (Jaeger, 4/23)

Gilead spokesperson Amy Flood said the company believes “the post included inappropriate characterization of the study" because it was stopped early due to the fact that it had too few patients. The experimental drug remdesivir has been viewed as a frontrunner in the race to find a successful treatment for COVID-19.

Politico:
WHO Data Leak Shows No Benefit From Gilead Coronavirus Drug
The draft documents posted to the WHO website — and then quickly removed — suggest that the drug did not help patients enrolled in a randomized clinical trial in China, and caused significant side effects in several people that led them to end treatment. More participants who received remdesivir died compared to those in the control group, although the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. Gilead thinks the results were mischaracterized because the study ended early due to low enrollment, spokesperson Sonia Choi said. "As such, the study results are inconclusive, though trends in the data suggest a potential benefit for remdesivir, particularly among patients treated early in disease." (Owermohle, 4/23)

In other news on treatments and vaccines —

The Wall Street Journal:
Lilly To Start Testing Experimental Drug In Coronavirus Patients Soon
Drugmaker Eli Lilly said it expects to begin human testing as soon as next month for an experimental Covid-19 treatment that uses antibodies derived from the blood of people who have recovered from the viral disease. The testing could yield results by late summer and, if successful, potential emergency authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by early fall, Lilly Chief Executive David Ricks said in an interview Thursday. (Loftus and Walker, 4/23)

Roll Call:
COVID-19 Vaccine Development Raises Numerous Questions
As scientists race to find a COVID-19 vaccine, policymakers and regulators face challenging questions including how to balance efficacy demands with a tight timeline, plans to pay for a potential vaccine and the best way to distribute it. Public health experts have indicated that a COVID-19 vaccine, which will take at least a year to 18 months to develop, is important for a return to normalcy. Last week, the National Institutes of Health announced an initiative to increase collaborative efforts to develop a vaccine and treatments for the COVID-19 pandemic. (Raman, 4/23)

The fourth stimulus package was meant to supplement the depleted fund to help small businesses, but Democrats fought to include money for hospitals and expanded testing as well. This bill took longer to negotiate than the previous three, and it could be the last measure that gets through without an intense and public political fight.

The Associated Press:
Somber Congress Delivers Nearly $500B More In Virus Aid
The measure passed Congress almost unanimously Thursday, but the lopsided tally belies a potentially bumpier path ahead as battle lines are being formed for much more ambitious future legislation that may prove far more difficult to maneuver through Congress. The bipartisan measure passed as lawmakers gathered in Washington as a group for the first time since March 27, adopting stricter social distancing rules while seeking to prove they can do their work despite the COVID-19 crisis. (Taylor and Fram, 4/24)

The Washington Post:
House Passes $484 Billion Bill With Money For Small Businesses, Hospitals And Testing To Battle Coronavirus
The legislation that passed Thursday was negotiated between the Trump administration and congressional leaders after the small-business Paycheck Protection Program — created as part of Congress’s $2 trillion economic stimulus package — ran out of money last week and stopped processing loans. The new measure includes $310 billion to replenish this program, $60 billion for a separate small-business emergency loan and grant program, $75 billion for hospitals and health-care providers, and $25 billion for a new coronavirus testing program. (Werner, 4/23)

Politico:
House Passes $484 Billion Relief Package After Weeks Of Partisan Battles
President Donald Trump offered a strong endorsement of the legislation earlier this week and is expected to quickly sign the aid bill. “This is really a very, very, very sad day. We come to the floor with nearly 50,000 deaths, a huge number of people impacted and the uncertainty of it all,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in floor remarks early Thursday. Pelosi wore a cream-colored scarf around her face until she spoke and wiped down the podium before and after her remarks. (Caygle and Ferris, 4/23)

The Wall Street Journal:
House Approves $484 Billion Bill To Aid Small Businesses, Hospitals
House leaders conducted Thursday’s debate and votes—the first roll-call votes since the pandemic largely shut down Congress—with the dangers of coronavirus in mind, laying out rules to keep members safe but upending decades of tradition. Lawmakers were divided into eight groups of roughly 60 people, based on the alphabetization of their last name, and asked to stay in their offices until their group was permitted to vote. As a result, the vote on the stimulus bill took about 90 minutes. (Duehren and Hughes, 4/23)

Reuters:
U.S. House Passes $500 Billion Coronavirus Bill In Latest Relief Package
The House also approved a select committee, with subpoena power, to probe the U.S. response to the coronavirus. It will have broad powers to investigate how federal dollars are being spent, U.S. preparedness and Trump administration deliberations. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the panel was essential to ensure funds go to those who need them and to prevent scams. Republicans said the committee was not needed, citing existing oversight bodies, and called the panel’s creation another expensive Democratic slap at Trump. The committee was approved on a vote of 212-182, along party lines. (Zengerle and Cornwell, 4/23)

The Wall Street Journal:
Lawmakers Set To Take Gloves Off In Next Coronavirus Aid Fight
With the passage of the latest coronavirus economic-relief bill, lawmakers are now turning to the next round. But Democrats, Republicans and the Trump administration have sharp policy differences over what should be in the package—and whether it is needed at all. ... This next round of talks promises to be tougher, with lawmakers raring for a fight over more state, local and tribal aid money, payments to households and businesses, mail-in voting, workplace-safety standards and other contentious issues, amid re-emerging concerns about deficit spending. Complicating matters: President Trump is eager to expand the stimulus menu, backing measures such as infrastructure spending and a payroll tax cut. (Andrews and Wise, 4/23)

Politico:
'The Political Honeymoon May Be Ending'
The ink is barely dry on Congress’ latest $484 billion check to combat the coronavirus pandemic, but an epic fight over the next massive relief bill is already in full tilt. Democrats failed to secure billions for reeling state and local governments in the last round, and they vow the money will be the centerpiece of the next chapter of talks. But they’re running into a buzzsaw named Mitch McConnell. (Everett and Ferris, 4/24)

The Washington Post:
Treasury's $10 Billion Loan To USPS Could Shift Control
The Treasury Department is considering taking unprecedented control over key operations of the U.S. Postal Service by imposing tough terms on an emergency coronavirus loan from Congress, which would fulfill President Trump’s longtime goal of changing how the service does business, according to two people familiar with the matter. (Bogage and Rein, 4/23)

Politico:
A Feud Over Face Masks And Pandemic Relief: Congress Returns
For the first time in nearly a month, House members returned to a largely deserted Capitol Hill. Congress — like the entire country — seemed changed forever. Or maybe not. They came by plane, train and automobile, with some lawmakers driving for days to get back to Washington to vote on a $484 billion coronavirus relief bill. They fought, as usual, about everything. (Bresnahan and Ferris, 4/23)

The New York Times:
Did America Learn Anything From The Last Economic Crisis?
Those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it. Even when that history is only a decade old, evidently. The global financial crisis, the deep recession it caused, and the weak recovery that followed have produced plenty of lessons about helping the economy escape from a period of trauma. The United States seems to be ignoring some of them in its response to the coronavirus pandemic. (Irwin, 4/24)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) suggested that instead of the federal government helping states that are struggling financially beneath the burden of the outbreak that those states should instead declare bankruptcy. “That’s how you’re going to bring this national economy back?” asked an incredulous New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who called McConnell irresponsible and reckless. “You want to see that market fall through the cellar?" There is a growing consensus in Washington, though, that states will need more fiscal help.

The New York Times:
Financial Aid To Struggling States Is Next Big Congressional Battle
With congressional approval of the latest emergency pandemic measure sealed on Thursday, the focus is quickly shifting to an escalating battle over whether Congress will provide hundreds of billions of dollars to states staggering under the costs of the coronavirus outbreak. Anxious governors on the front lines of battling the pandemic have been clamoring for more federal help, saying their budgets are being stretched to the breaking point and their revenues are collapsing as they pour resources into health care while their economies are shut down. (Hulse, 4/23)

Politico:
‘Really Dumb’: Governors Assail McConnell Over Bankruptcy Comments
From New Jersey to California, governors facing massive budget gaps said they were flabbergasted by the Kentucky Republican‘s assertion that Congress should refuse aid to cities and states in the next stimulus. "You want to see the market fall through the cellar?" Cuomo asked during a press conference in the New York state Capitol on Thursday. “Let New York State declare bankruptcy. Let Michigan declare bankruptcy. Let Illinois declare bankruptcy. Let California declare bankruptcy. You will see a collapse of this national economy." (Niedzwiadek, 4/23)

Laid-off workers need money quickly so that they can continue to pay rent and credit card bills and buy groceries. But delays in benefits mean they're going longer and longer without help. That in turn means the hole the economy has fallen into is getting "deeper and deeper, and more difficult to crawl out of.” Meanwhile, the surge of unemployed workers adds extra stress on Medicaid.

The New York Times:
Jobless Numbers Are ‘Eye-Watering’ But Understate The Crisis
Nearly a month after Washington rushed through an emergency package to aid jobless Americans, millions of laid-off workers have still not been able to apply for those benefits — let alone receive them — because of overwhelmed state unemployment systems. Across the country, states have frantically scrambled to handle a flood of applications and apply a new set of federal rules even as more and more people line up for help. On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that another 4.4 million people filed initial unemployment claims last week, bringing the five-week total to more than 26 million. (Cohen, 4/23)

The Washington Post:
A Growing National Backlog For Unemployment Benefits Threatens Millions Of Jobless Americans
Holly Strout is a 47-year-old event planner in Volusia County, Fla., not far from Orlando, where she was born and raised. There’s just one problem: The state where she has lived her entire life didn’t seem to know that. For days, Strout had been trying to file for unemployment benefits, joining millions of Americans unexpectedly out of a job because of the deadly coronavirus. Try as she might, though, Florida’s beleaguered system would not verify her identity. (Romm and Long, 4/23)

The Wall Street Journal:
Frustrations Build For Those Still Awaiting IRS Stimulus Checks
Most Americans have received their stimulus money but millions are still waiting as an understaffed IRS contends with electronic payments bouncing back and taxpayers griping about difficulties using the agency’s website. People who closed old bank accounts or used tax-preparation companies are having trouble determining when they’ll get the payments of $1,200 per adult and $500 per child. Others struggle with error messages on the Internal Revenue Service website. (Rubin, 4/23)

USA Today:
COVID-19 Boosts Demand, Pressure On Medicaid Amid Job Losses
Expanded and increased funding of Medicaid is needed more than ever so the people most susceptible to serious illness with COVID-19 can afford health care, proponents of the program say. The 14 states that didn't extend Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act are under new pressure to do so to help stop coronavirus' spread. A new law requiring free coronavirus testing for everyone also boosted the share of Medicaid costs paid by the federal government. This week, the National Governors Association asked for this federal match to be nearly doubled, but only for states that expanded Medicaid. (O'Donnell, 4/23)

WBUR:
Unemployment Claims Are Falling In Mass., But Another Spike Is Coming
Initial unemployment claims in Massachusetts continued to decline last week, falling to less than half the record high of late March, according to figures released Thursday by the U.S. Labor Department. New applications for unemployment insurance totaled 80,345 in the week that ended April 18. Lest anyone think job losses are stabilizing, however, the state Department of Unemployment Assistance foreshadowed another spike, saying more than 200,000 people who were previously ineligible for benefits have applied since Monday. (Borchers, 4/23)

"I think it's fair to say that hospitals are facing perhaps the greatest challenge that they have ever faced in their history," says Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association. Federal aid is being distributed to help needy health system, but some wonder if it will be enough. Meanwhile, some hospitals start inching toward resuming non-coronavirus procedures.

NPR:
U.S. Hospitals Hit By Financial 'Triple Whammy' During Coronavirus Pandemic
The coronavirus outbreak has thrown hospital systems throughout the U.S. into crisis — both medical and financial. The cost of treating coronavirus patients, combined with the loss of revenue from canceling elective procedures, has left many hospitals in desperate financial straits. Some estimates suggest hospitals are losing $50 billion a month, says Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association. (Chang, 4/23)

Modern Healthcare:
COVID-19 Could Cause More Than 26 Million Hospitalizations
The COVID-19 outbreak may be as severe as the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed an estimated 675,000 people in the U.S., according to a report by consulting firm Matrix Global Advisors. MGA predicts that 12.3 to 26.3 million people will be hospitalized in the U.S. because of the virus, placing extraordinary demand on the healthcare system. (Brady, 4/23)

ABC News:
Another Coronavirus Victim: ​America's Largest Health Systems
As the novel coronavirus leaves a path of human devastation in its wake, the financial future of some of the nation's largest health care systems is also now in jeopardy -- leading many of these institutions to let go of health care workers at a time when patients need them most. While private practices and smaller health systems were some of the first to be affected, as time has stretched on, some of the country's largest health systems have shown that they too are vulnerable. (Anoruo and Kagan, 4/24)

Modern Healthcare:
HHS Formula For $20 Billion In CARES Act Provider Grants Prompts Questions
The formula HHS will use to distribute $20 billion in COVID-19 relief grants is unclear about how much money providers will get and if enough money will be left after the first direct deposits go out Friday. HHS Secretary Alex Azar said Wednesday that the department will soon pay out an additional $20 billion from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act's provider relief fund to top up providers that were disadvantaged in the department's first $30 billion round of grant funds based on Medicare fee-for-service reimbursement. (Cohrs, 4/23)

San Francisco Chronicle:
With No Coronavirus Surge, Hospitals Slowly Resume Nonemergency Surgery
At least one Bay Area hospital is already performing and scheduling nonemergency surgeries — postponed during California’s shelter-in-place order — as the state takes the first tentative steps toward reopening. Even before Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that hospitals could begin to schedule some elective surgeries for the first time in more than a month, UCSF has been getting such surgeries on the calendar for the past two weeks, including replacing kidneys and conducting certain heart surgeries and cancer procedures — all of which have been deemed nonemergency during the pandemic. (Moench, 4/23)

Cincinnati Enquirer:
Coronavirus In Ohio: Hospitals Say Elective Surgeries Can Resume With COVID-19 Testing, PPE
Ohio hospitals and outpatient clinics plan to restart some procedures halted during the coronavirus pandemic, but that will only happen if COVID-19 testing and personal protective equipment are not scarce. On March 17, Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton issued an order halting most elective surgeries and procedures. The order allowed procedures to continue under a few exceptions such as if skipping them would "rapidly" worsen the condition (Borchardt, 4/23)

ProPublica/The Frontier:
This Hospital Has Only 8 Nurses. They Are Also The Janitors.
Eight nurses at the lone hospital in the rural Oklahoma town of Stigler now double as the cleaning crew. They stabilize patients with life-threatening conditions, mop floors and scrub toilets. The nurses, along with an office manager and a part-time maintenance worker, are the only remaining employees at the Haskell County Community Hospital, which two years ago had a staff of 68 and provided some of the highest-paying jobs in the southeastern Oklahoma town. (Bailey, 4/23)

“You could see it in almost every state, in every locality, and the federal government level: depleting the resources, depleting the inventory, and hoping when you need them they will be available,” said Gerard Anderson, a health policy professor at Johns Hopkins University. In other news, states turn to China for help with medical supplies. And a tip comes from an unusual source.

The Associated Press:
AP Review: State Supply Stocks Sparse And Dated Before Virus
Last autumn, when schools were in session, sports stadiums full and no one had even heard of the COVID-19 disease, the Missouri health department made an eerily foreshadowing request. It asked the state for $300,000 to buy supplies in case of a large-scale disease outbreak. The goal was to fill a gap between local and federal sources. Today, as states spend billions of dollars in the fight against the coronavirus, that October funding request appears woefully insufficient. Yet it highlights a stark fact: States were not stocked for a pandemic and have been scrambling to catch up. (Lieb and Dil, 4/24)

Stateline:
Washington State To Buy 1M Chinese Test Swabs In Bid To Reopen
Washington state is finalizing the purchase of roughly 1 million test swabs from China as it works to rapidly scale up its testing network to safely reopen parts of the economy. If Washington closes the deal, it will mark the second time this week that a state has gone outside the United States to procure testing supplies the federal government has been unable or unwilling to provide. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, announced Monday that his state paid $9 million for 500,000 tests from South Korea. (Brown, 4/23)

The New York Times:
China's Elite Donate Coronavirus Gear To The U.S.
U.S. hospitals and state officials face desperate shortages of the masks, ventilators and other gear they need to fight the coronavirus. Chinese factories can make it and sell it to them, but huge obstacles stand in the way — and Washington’s stumbles and growing hostility with Beijing aren’t helping. Now some of China’s elite — and others with big stakes in keeping the U.S.-China relationship alive — are stepping in to help. (Stevenson, Kulish and Gelles, 4/24)

The Associated Press:
Iowa Governor: Tip From Ashton Kutcher Led To Testing Deal
Iowa’s $26 million contract to increase coronavirus testing was reached after the governor acted on a tip from actor Ashton Kutcher, a revelation that increased skepticism about the no-bid deal on Thursday. Critics of Gov. Kim Reynolds said they were puzzled by the celebrity’s cameo in Iowa’s outbreak response, particularly when the state has been slow to tap some of its own experts. (Foley, 4/24)

With the usual food distribution chain disrupted due to the coronavirus outbreak, farmers are plowing unused produce back into the field. Yet food banks struggle to feed millions of newly unemployed Americans. While a federal plan will throw $19 billion dollars at the problem, it must still overcome the transportation challenges that created it in the first place. Other food supply issues reports on the meat industry, food plant safety and alleged price gouging on eggs.

The Washington Post:
Trump Announced A $19 Billion Plan To Have The Government Play Matchmaker Between Empty Food Banks And Farmers With Surplus
Farmers in the upper Midwest euthanize their baby pigs because the slaughterhouses are backing up or closing, while dairy owners in the region dump thousands of gallons of milk a day. In Salinas, Calif., rows of ripe iceberg, romaine and red-leaf lettuce shrivel in the spring sun, waiting to be plowed back into the earth. Drone footage shows a 1.5-mile-long line of cars waiting their turn at a drive-through food bank in Miami. In Dallas, schools serve well north of 500,000 meals on each service day, cars rolling slowly past stations of ice chests and insulated bags as food service employees, volunteers and substitute teachers hand milk and meal packets through the windows. (Reiley, 4/23)

The Wall Street Journal:
Grocers Hunt For Meat As Coronavirus Hobbles Beef And Pork Plants
U.S. grocers are struggling to secure meat, looking for new suppliers and selling different cuts, as the coronavirus pandemic cuts into domestic production and raises fears of shortages. Covid-19 outbreaks among employees have closed about a dozen U.S. meatpacking facilities this month, including three Tyson Foods Inc. plants this week. Other plants have slowed production as workers stay home for various reasons. Grocery executives at retailers including Walmart Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. COST -1.30% worry supplies of some products could run short just as demand is surging. (Bunge, Nassauer and Kang, 4/23)

Politico:
Save Your Bacon: A Real Meat Shortage Looms With Virus Shutdowns
Americans could start to see shortages of pork, chicken and beef on grocery shelves as soon as May as major packing plants swept by the coronavirus remain shuttered and the nation’s massive stockpiles of frozen meat begin to dwindle. Any empty shelves to date have been the result of bumps in the supply chain, with stores being unable to restock as quickly as customers are buying. But bacon, pork chops and ham could be the first to face actual shortages: The amount of frozen pork in storage nationwide — more than 621 million pounds — dropped 4 percent from March to April, the USDA reported this week. Slaughter rates are down 25 percent, and 400,000 animals are backed up in slaughterhouses. (Crampton, 4/23)

The New York Times:
Missouri Pork Plant Workers Say They Can’t Cover Mouths To Cough
Workers at a Smithfield Foods pork plant in Milan, Mo., say that for years they have endured repetitive stress injuries on the meat processing line — and urinary tract infections because they had so few bathroom breaks. But as the coronavirus pandemic has emerged, workers say they have encountered another health complication: reluctance to cover their mouths while coughing or to clean their faces after sneezing, because this can cause them to miss a piece of meat as it goes by, creating a risk of disciplinary action. (Scheiber and Corkery, 4/24)

The Wall Street Journal:
She Polices Social Distancing At Kraft’s Mac-And-Cheese Factory During Coronavirus
The coronavirus hit a Kraft Heinz Co. macaroni-and-cheese factory last month, forcing Brooke Burk to make a change that is a bit out of character for someone who deals with people all day. Ms. Burk, a human-resources staffer, asked to have a plexiglass shield installed around her desk to separate her from other employees while she meets with them. “It kind of looks like a fish tank in here,” she said during a recent interview from her office at the Springfield, Mo., factory. (Gasparro, 4/24)

The Wall Street Journal:
Texas Attorney General Accuses Largest U.S. Egg Producer Of Price-Gouging
The Texas Attorney General filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing Cal-Maine Foods Inc., the nation’s largest egg producer, of price-gouging and profiting illegally off the coronavirus pandemic by selling eggs at more than 300% of their normal cost. “Cal-Maine is taking advantage of a disaster by offering for sale…eggs at exorbitant or excessive prices,” Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office alleged in a lawsuit filed in state court, charging the company with violations of the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act. (O'Brien, 4/23)

The serological survey data that's been trickling in over the past few days has been shocking--showing just how much the coronavirus has spread through mild or asymptomatic cases. While experts say that the tests are an important tool, the results shouldn't be taken as gospel.

The New York Times:
1 In 5 New Yorkers May Have Had Covid-19, Antibody Tests Suggest
One of every five New York City residents tested positive for antibodies to the coronavirus, according to preliminary results described by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Thursday that suggested that the virus had spread far more widely than known. If the pattern holds, the results from random testing of 3,000 people raised the tantalizing prospect that many New Yorkers — as many as 2.7 million, the governor said — who never knew they had been infected had already encountered the virus, and survived. Mr. Cuomo also said that such wide infection might mean that the death rate was far lower than believed. (Goodman and Rothfeld, 4/23)

Reuters:
New York Survey Suggests Nearly 14% In State May Have Coronavirus Antibodies
While noting the small sample size of 3,000 people and other limitations of the survey, Cuomo said the implied fatality rate of 0.5% of those infected was lower than some experts feared. “If the infection rate is 13.9 percent, then it changes the theories of what the death rate is if you get infected,” Cuomo told a daily briefing. The implied fatality rate of 0.5% was calculated by dividing the official statewide death count to date of about 15,500 by the estimated number of infected - 14% of New York’s 19 million residents, or 2.7 million people. (Goldberg and Layne, 4/23)

Stat:
Coronavirus 'Serosurvey' Results Are Coming. Here's How To Kick Their Tires
Results from the first studies designed to determine how widely the coronavirus has spread in communities have started to trickle in, drawing immense attention. These studies, after all, are seen as critical indicators of when it might be safe to lift movement restrictions. Already, though, experts are raising concerns about the validity of some of the studies and cautioning officials and the general public not to put too much weight on any one finding. (Joseph and Branswell, 4/24)

The Wall Street Journal:
Facts And Myths About Coronavirus Antibody Tests
Everyone has their hopes pinned on antibody or serology tests—blood tests designed to detect who was previously infected with the new coronavirus and has developed antibodies to it. Businesses and governments hope the tests can help slowly open up the economy. Individuals hope the tests can tell them if they will be protected from getting Covid-19 again. In an effort to get the tests out as quickly as possible, the Food and Drug Administration isn’t requiring manufacturers to get approval from the agency. The result, experts say, is that many tests are of dubious quality and include false claims. (Reddy, 4/23)

The New York Times:
Was It Covid? Americans Ask Amid Signs The Coronavirus Came Earlier
In January, a mystery illness swept through a call center in a skyscraper on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Close to 30 people in one department alone had symptoms — dry, deep coughs and fevers they could not shake. When they gradually returned to work after taking sick days, they sat in their cubicles looking wan and tired. “I’ve started to think it was the coronavirus,” said Julie Parks, a 63-year-old employee who was among the sick. “I may have had it, but I can’t be sure. It’s limbo.” (Bosman, Harmon and Fuller, 4/23)

Boston Globe:
Should Those With Antibodies Get A Digital Pass To Go Back To Work?
In the race for an all-clear signal, Alex Pentland proposes a solution: a kind of digital passport that shows the carrier poses no risk of spreading COVID-19 and can safely resume normal life, including returning to work. Pentland is an eminent computer scientist, a cofounder of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In a paper published this week, he proposed a digital identity system that would disclose whether a person has blood that contains COVID antibodies and is therefore at little risk of becoming infected or infecting others. (Bray, 4/23)

WBUR:
Why The Warning That Coronavirus Was On The Move In U.S. Cities Came So Late
In early February, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was looking for ways to stop the novel coronavirus before it got out of control in the United States. The agency selected six cities for sentinel surveillance — a sort of early warning system to detect if the coronavirus was spreading freely. The idea was to look for the virus among patients who had mild respiratory symptoms and no known travel-related risk factors — patients who weren't being tested under CDC guidelines at the time. (Sommer, 4/24)

Hypertension and obesity were common risk factors found in the patients. The study also found that one in five of the hospital stays ended with the patient dying--though more than half of the patients studied were still hospitalized when the study ended. In other scientific news about the virus: smoking in the time of COVID-19, convalescent plasma, reinfection threat, and more.

The New York Times:
Nearly All Patients Hospitalized With Covid-19 Had Chronic Health Issues, Study Finds
A new study of thousands of hospitalized coronavirus patients in the New York City area, the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States, has found that nearly all of them had at least one major chronic health condition, and most — 88 percent — had at least two. Though earlier research has shown chronic conditions like obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes are common risk factors for severe Covid-19, the ubiquity of serious medical conditions in these patients was striking: Only 6 percent of them had no underlying health conditions. (Rabin, 4/23)

CIDRAP:
New Data Highlight Deadly COVID-19 Impact In NYC
Yesterday, a case series in JAMA of 5,700 COVID-19 patients in New York City hospitals revealed a 9.7% death rate overall—21% when excluding those still hospitalized—and an 88.1% death rate among those requiring mechanical ventilation. Also, a new study in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found high rates of COVID-19 infections in residents and staff members at homeless shelters in three cities after clusters were identified, suggesting that regular testing before clusters occur is warranted. (Van Beusekom, 4/23)

Los Angeles Times:
Coronavirus And Smoking Weed, Cigarettes And Vaping
In times of stress, like living through a global pandemic, it’s natural to fall back on soothing habits — gardening, playing video games or, for some, lighting up a cigarette or taking a pull on a marijuana vape pen. But what are the risks, given that the novel coronavirus at the center of the current crisis attacks the lungs? (Seidman, 4/23)

The New York Times:
What Is Convalescent Plasma, And Why Do We Care About It?
A medical procedure doctors have used to treat novel diseases for a century has emerged as a focal point in the fight against Covid-19: convalescent plasma. Conva-what-now…? Convalescent plasma is the term used for plasma that is removed from the blood of a person who has recovered from a disease, then transfused into a patient still battling it. Yes, it sounds a little confusing. So allow us to break down everything you need to know about convalescent plasma — and why it matters right now. (Herrera, 4/24)

ABC News:
Revealing S. Korean Studies Show Antibodies Could Thwart COVID-19 Reinfection, Spread
Results from two new South Korean studies shed light on whether antibodies will be a reliable form of protection against COVID-19 for those who have recovered from the disease. In one ongoing study, the Korean Center for Disease Control found that 100% of 25 randomly selected patients who were hospitalized with symptoms and who fully recovered, developed defensive antibodies against COVID-19. (Baldwin and Cho, 4/23)

CNN:
No Need To Wipe Down Groceries Or Takeout, Experts Say, But Do Wash Your Hands
Has wiping down your groceries and take-out food become part of your coronavirus survival kit? It might be time to reconsider, experts say, especially if that extra effort is adding to your daily stress. Even the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is re-emphasizing there's no real risk of getting the virus that causes Covid-19 that way. (LaMotte, 4/23)

Physicians are prematurely relying on Epic's deterioration index, saying they're unable to wait for a validation process that can take months to years. The artificial intelligence gives them a snapshot of a patient's illness and helps them determine who needs more careful monitoring. News on technology is from Verily, Google, MIT, Livongo and more, as well.

Stat:
AI Used To Predict Covid-19 Patients' Decline Before Proven To Work
Dozens of hospitals across the country are using an artificial intelligence system created by Epic, the big electronic health record vendor, to predict which Covid-19 patients will become critically ill, even as many are struggling to validate the tool’s effectiveness on those with the new disease. The rapid uptake of Epic’s deterioration index is a sign of the challenges imposed by the pandemic: Normally hospitals would take time to test the tool on hundreds of patients, refine the algorithm underlying it, and then adjust care practices to implement it in their clinics. Covid-19 is not giving them that luxury. (Ross, 4/24)

Modern Healthcare:
Verily, Google Cloud Develop COVID-19 Chatbot For Hospitals
Google's sister company Verily Life Sciences has joined the mix of companies offering COVID-19 screening tools that hospitals can add to their websites. The screener, called the COVID-19 Pathfinder, takes the form of a chatbot or voicebot—essentially personified computer programs that can instant-message or speak to human users in plain English. (Cohen, 4/23)

Boston Globe:
Tech From MIT May Allow Caregivers To Monitor Coronavirus Patients From A Distance
A product developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is being used to remotely monitor patients with COVID-19, using wireless signals to detect breathing patterns of people who do not require hospitalization ― but who must be watched closely to ensure their conditions remain stable. The device, developed at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory by professor Dina Katabi and her colleagues, could in some situations lower the risk of caregivers becoming infected while treating patients with the coronavirus. (Rosen, 4/23)

Stat:
A Gulf Emerges In Health Tech: Some Companies Surge, Others Have Layoffs
You might expect them to be pandemic-proof: They’re the companies offering glimpses of the future in which you don’t have to go to the doctor’s office, ones that would seem to be insulated from a crisis in which people aren’t leaving their homes. Yet there’s a stark divide emerging among the companies providing high-demand virtual health care, triage, and testing services. While some are hiring up and seeing their stock prices soar, others are furloughing and laying off their workers. (Robbins and Brodwin, 4/24)

On Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) announced that her oldest brother Donald Reed Herring died from COVID-19. On the same day, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) took a moment to dedicate the latest relief package to her sister, who she said is dying in a hospital.

CNN:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren Says Her Oldest Brother Died Of Coronavirus
Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced Thursday her oldest brother Donald Reed Herring died after testing positive for coronavirus. "My oldest brother, Don Reed, died from the coronavirus on Tuesday evening," Warren said in a statement to CNN and in a series of tweets. "He was charming and funny, a natural leader. What made him extra special was his smile. He had a quick, crooked smile that seemed to generate its own light -- and to light up everyone around him." (Daniella Diaz, 4/23)

Boston Globe:
Elizabeth Warren’s Oldest Brother Dies Of Coronavirus In Oklahoma
Warren, who has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s halting response to the pandemic for months, has not previously revealed that her family was waging its own personal battle against the virus. She confirmed his death in a statement provided to the Globe and said the cause was the coronavirus. “I’m grateful to the nurses and other front-line staff who took care of my brother, but it is hard to know that there was no family to hold his hand or to say ‘I love you’ one more time. And now there’s no funeral for those of us who loved him to hold each other close,” Warren said. “I will miss my brother.” (Bidgood, 4/23)

The Washington Post:
Warren's Brother Dies Of Covid-19
“He was charming and funny, a natural leader,” Warren (D-Mass.) said in a statement. “What made him extra special was his smile. He had a quick, crooked smile that seemed to generate its own light — and to light up everyone around him.” The death means that Warren is one of several top political figures who have been personally touched by the pandemic. The husband of Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) was hospitalized for the virus and has recovered. Former vice president Joe Biden, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, also lost a longtime friend and adviser to the disease. (Linskey and Sonmez, 4/23)

The Hill:
Maxine Waters Dedicates Legislation To Sister Dying Of Coronavirus
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) dedicated Congress’s $484 billion relief package to her sister, who she said is dying from the coronavirus. “I not only rise in support of this legislation,” Waters said on the House floor. “I also would like to rise in support of what we’re doing for the health care enhancement act in this bill. And I’m going to take a moment to dedicate this legislation to my dear sister who is dying in a hospital in St. Louis, Mo., right now infected by the coronavirus.” (Axelrod, 4/23)

Ksdk.Com:
California Rep. Maxine Waters Says Her Sister Is Dying Of COVID-19 In St. Louis
Rep. Waters was born in St. Louis as the fifth of 13 children; she was raised by a single mother, according to her U.S. House of Representatives biography. She graduated from Vashon High School in the city before moving to Los Angeles. The congresswoman voted in support of the measure, which ended up passing Thursday evening. The new relief bill meant to help employers and hospitals now goes to President Donald Trump’s desk. (Olmos, 4/23)

As more than 11,000 of the nation's deaths have been in nursing homes, advocates call for universal testing for all staff and vulnerable patients, citing the federal government's and states' failures to not make it the top priority. News on nursing homes is from Virginia, New York, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Louisiana, California and Georgia, as well.

The Associated Press:
11,000 Deaths: Ravaged Nursing Homes Plead For More Testing
After two months and more than 11,000 deaths that have made the nation’s nursing homes some of the most terrifying places to be during the coronavirus crisis, most of them still don’t have access to enough tests to help control outbreaks among their frail, elderly residents. Neither the federal government nor the leader in nursing home deaths, New York, has mandated testing for all residents and staff. An industry group says only about a third of the 15,000 nursing homes in the U.S. have ready access to tests that can help isolate the sick and stop the spread. And homes that do manage to get a hold of tests often rely on luck and contacts. (Condon, Sedensky and Mustian, 4/24)

The Wall Street Journal:
New York City Nursing Home With Dozens Of Deaths During Coronavirus Outbreak Says It Got Little Help
At a Brooklyn nursing home where at least 50 people have died who were suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus, a top administrator says his center had to go it alone for weeks during the outbreak, with little support from the state or other authorities. Cobble Hill Health Center Chief Executive Donny Tuchman said some staff wore garbage bags for protection. Some worked 16-hour shifts. And at times, patients were dying so quickly that the center’s refrigerated storage was beyond capacity, forcing workers to rotate bodies in and out as they waited for space at funeral homes or morgues. (Brody, 4/23)

NPR:
Nursing Homes Want Immunity From Civil Action As COVID-19 Spreads
The people most vulnerable to the coronavirus are older adults with underlying health conditions. And that perfectly describes the residents of nursing homes. There are no authoritative numbers on fatalities, but estimates are in the thousands. A report by The Wall Street Journal this week said more than 10,000 nursing home residents have died of COVID-19. So, fearing a flood of lawsuits, nursing homes and other health care facilities have been seeking, and gaining, temporary immunity from potential civil suits in several states across the country. (Jaffe, 4/23)

Los Angeles Times:
Coronavirus Toll In Yucaipa Concentrated At Skilled Nursing Facility
Eighteen residents of a Yucaipa skilled nursing facility are dead after a coronavirus outbreak at the facility, and more than 100 residents and staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. The deaths at Cedar Mountain Post Acute Rehabilitation account for nearly a quarter of San Bernardino County’s 77 coronavirus-related deaths, according to the county’s latest numbers. (Gomez, 4/23)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Arbor Terrace Home Accused Of Negligence In COVID-19 Deaths
Family members of five people who died after contracting the coronavirus at one of the state’s hardest-hit senior care homes announced Thursday they are filing lawsuits against the assisted living facility for failing to properly protect residents. The virus has ravaged Arbor Terrace at Cascade, where 52 residents have tested positive and 15 have died, according to state records released Wednesday. At least 34 of the facility’s staff have also tested positive for coronavirus. (Teegardin and Schrade, 4/23)

Psychiatric hospitals present special challenges to the strictures of social distancing, since many patients are allowed to come and go, in and out of the center, and once inside, they are not cloistered. This is creating a dangerous atmosphere for the staff working in the hospitals. In other provider news: new safety precautions pay off, certificate-of-need laws challenged, pay is being slashed for front-line workers, and more.

The New York Times:
‘They Want To Forget Us’: Psychiatric Hospital Workers Feel Exposed
By mid-March, the staff at the Rockland Psychiatric Center in Orangeburg, N.Y., was growing frustrated. Patients in the center’s two inpatient buildings were continuing to gather for daily group therapy sessions, making social distancing difficult, and some workers believed they needed to stop. There were not enough test kits or protective gear, workers said. And some worried that patients being transferred from hospitals in New York City had not been adequately screened for the coronavirus. (Hakim, 4/24)

The New York Times:
How A Triage Nurse Spends Her Sundays
“The amount of people who can’t breathe, who are coming in with respiratory issues, is overwhelming,” said Marina DiMattia, a triage nurse at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. But, she added, “in between gasps of air, they thank us.” The gratitude among patients “has been remarkable,” she said. “It makes me think I can keep doing this.” Ms. DiMattia, 29, lives in Long Island City, Queens, with her boyfriend, Daniel Bulgrin, 29, a market researcher. (Strauss, 4/24)

WBUR:
Coronavirus Diagnoses In Staff Drop By Half After Boston Hospital Requires Masks For All
After Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston began requiring that nearly everyone in the hospital wear masks, new coronavirus infections diagnosed in its staffers dropped by half — or more. Brigham and Women’s epidemiologist Dr. Michael Klompas said the hospital mandated masks for all health care staffers on March 25, and extended the requirement to patients as well on April 6. (Goldberg, 4/23)

Modern Healthcare:
Healthcare Professionals Take Aim At Certificate-Of-Need Laws
Medical professionals in Nebraska and North Carolina challenged the constitutionality of the states' certificate-of-need laws, alleging in lawsuits filed Thursday that they reduce access to care and inflate costs. A North Carolina ophthalmologist and the owner of Nebraska healthcare transportation and home health companies filed lawsuits claiming that CON laws unlawfully prevented them from expanding or establishing their businesses. They allege certificates of need violate the anti-monopoly clause in the Constitution and its prohibition on special privileges, among other provisions. (Kacik, 4/23)

WBUR:
Trauma On The Pandemic's Front Line Leaves Health Workers Reeling
Hospital workers around the world face similar, sustained trauma, and it's taking an emotional toll. A recent study underscored the severity of those risks: Half of Chinese health care workers studied who treated COVID-19 patients earlier this year now suffer from depression. Nearly as many — 44.6% — have anxiety, and a third have insomnia. (Noguchi, 4/23)

Houston Chronicle:
As Frontline Emergency Doctors Risk All To Fight COVID-19, Their Pay Is Slashed
As the nation cheers its emergency room physicians as warriors fighting a pandemic, the big-money firms who employ them are quietly slashing doctors’ income to make up for shortfalls in corporate revenue. Across Houston’s largest hospital systems, some emergency room doctors are reporting their overall income has dropped as much as 25 percent either through direct pay cuts, reduced hours or both — even as the number of COVID-19 patients continues to climb in the region. (Deam, 4/23)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Gwinnett Cops Celebrate Healthcare Workers Fighting COVID-19
Law enforcement officials in Gwinnett County gathered Wednesday in a show of support for those who have, for weeks, been on the front lines combating the COVID-19 pandemic: healthcare workers. Officers from “every agency in Gwinnett County” convened outside Northside Hospital Gwinnett to hold a parade for healthcare workers, the Lawrenceville Police Department said in a tweet. (Burns, 4/23)

A New York Times reporter visits a campus in New York, home to scientists dubbed the ''Paul Reveres'' of climate change, a threat, they say, that could cause far greater problems than the pandemic and requires vastly more funding. Other public health news is on mental health, celebrity pledges to wellness care, advanced directives, repercussions from the fear of going to the ER, testing homeless people, research on male vulnerability, the forgotten flu, vaping risks, unusual symptoms in seniors and more.

The New York Times:
The Lab That Discovered Global Warming Has Good News And Bad News
Nestled in the forest behind a guard house just north of the border between New York and New Jersey off Route 9W is one of the world’s greatest meccas for climate change research. Here, perched on the lip of the Palisades, a half-hour north of Manhattan, is a sylvan 180-acre campus where researchers have helped to untangle mystery after mystery about how our planet actually works. No other geoscience lab was as influential during the second half of the 20th century as Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. It is where the very phrase “global warming” was coined. (Schiffman, 4/24)

The Guardian:
'A High-Risk Perfect Storm': Lockdown Takes Toll On America's Mental Health
Every aspect of normal life has been turned upside down by the strict physical distancing measures to mitigate the pandemic, which has already claimed almost 50,000 lives and 26m jobs in the US. With no end in sight, the mental health consequences of Covid-19 are starting to manifest – fuelled by the devastating mix of uncertainty, isolation, grief and economic despair. Nationwide, crisis services are trying to deal with the immediate aftermath. But the country’s weak mental health system may not be able to meet rising demand. (Lakhani, 4/24)

The New York Times:
When Mental Distress Comes Home
The panic spirals up from somewhere in Connor Langan’s midsection, and so quickly that his face changes; wild in the eyes, his upper lip trembling, he sometimes punches a wall in frustration. Such episodes resulted in Connor, 17, being placed on leave from high school late last year, and in early March he agreed to enroll at Mountain Valley, a New Hampshire residential program well known for addressing anxiety problems in young people. But on March 27, in response to the growing threat of coronavirus, the facility temporarily suspended operations and began sending home some two dozen teenagers and young adults. (Carey, 4/23)

The New York Times:
Do You Want To Die In An I.C.U.? Pandemic Makes Question All Too Real
Earlier this month, Cheryl Goldman, a retired high school teacher living on Long Island, called her son, Edo Banach, in Maryland. It seemed a routine chat until Ms. Goldman announced that if she became ill with Covid-19, she would decline a ventilator. “I’m her health care proxy,” said Mr. Banach, who happens to be the president of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “Her perspective was, what’s the point? In all likelihood it’s not going to help, and she’d be taking a vent away from someone else.” (Span, 4/24)

ABC News:
‘They Are Terrified’: Fearing Coronavirus, People With Potentially Fatal Conditions Avoid Emergency Care
“Stay home.” That’s the message public health experts and political leaders have foisted onto Americans in recent weeks, and that was the message ringing in Alan Phenix’s mind when the pain crept into his abdomen earlier this month... With an immunocompromised wife at home, Phenix, 62, waited five days after symptoms emerged before seeking treatment for what turned out to be appendicitis. By the time he received medical care, his appendix had ruptured and an infection had set in. (Bruggeman and Bhatt, 4/23)

The New York Times:
C.D.C. Stresses Need For Coronavirus Testing At Homeless Shelters
According to a new study of homeless shelters in four major American cities, it is crucial to broadly test residents and staff for the coronavirus at the detection of the first case — or sooner — and to isolate those who test positive in order to prevent a wide spread of infection. Even in two shelters in Atlanta, which had no known coronavirus cases, comprehensive testing of residents and staff found that 4 percent of the residents and 2 percent of staff members tested positive, suggesting that some people were spreading the disease through the shelters before they had symptoms. (Waldstein, 4/23)

WBUR:
Researchers Look To Behavior To Explore Why The Coronavirus May Hit Men Harder
Researchers suspect that the coronavirus is hitting men and women differently. Worldwide, men appear more likely to suffer more severely or die from COVID-19 than women. But experts don't know why. At Johns Hopkins University, researchers have begun to wonder whether biological factors — like women's immune systems producing a stronger response than those of men — can help explain the difference. (Glenn, 4/23)

The Wall Street Journal:
Forgotten Pandemic Offers Contrast To Today’s Coronavirus Lockdowns
The outbreak started in China, where it quickly engulfed the city of Wuhan before racing across the globe on commercial flights and ships, eventually killing more than 1 million people, over 100,000 of them in the U.S. The novel virus triggered a state of emergency in New York City; caused so many deaths in Berlin that corpses were stored in subway tunnels; overwhelmed London’s hospitals; and in some areas of France left half of the workforce bedridden. Severely ill patients suffering from acute pneumonia were put on ventilators, often in vain. It was the late 1960s, and the Hong Kong flu was sweeping the world. (Pancevski, 4/24)

Kaiser Health News:
Vaping, Opioid Addiction Accelerate Coronavirus Risks, Says NIDA Director
In 2018, opioid overdoses claimed about 47,000 American lives. Last year, federal authorities reported that 5.4 million middle and high school students vaped. And just two months ago, about 2,800 cases of vaping-associated lung injuries resulted in hospitalizations; 68 people died. Until mid-March, these numbers commanded attention. But as the coronavirus death toll climbs and the economic costs of attempting to control its spread wreak havoc, the public health focus is now dramatically different. (Luthra, 4/24)

State House News Service:
Don't Let COVID-19 Fears Keep You From Seeking Hospital Care, New PSA Campaign Urges
A new public service announcement campaign, to be played on Boston TV stations, will encourage people not to avoid seeking medical care out of fear of contracting COVID-19, a theme state officials have been repeatedly emphasizing. Hospital executives joined Gov. Charlie Baker for his daily press briefing on Thursday, urging people to seek urgent or emergency care if they need it but are letting fear of contracting COVID-19 push them into letting their conditions worsen. (Lannan, 4/23)

Kaiser Health News:
Seniors With COVID-19 Show Unusual Symptoms, Doctors Say
Older adults with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, have several “atypical” symptoms, complicating efforts to ensure they get timely and appropriate treatment, according to physicians. COVID-19 is typically signaled by three symptoms: a fever, an insistent cough and shortness of breath. But older adults — the age group most at risk of severe complications or death from this condition ― may have none of these characteristics. (Graham, 4/24)

Kaiser Health News:
Born Into A Pandemic: Virus Complicates Births For Moms And Babies
Mallory Pease’s contractions grew stronger as her husband, Mitchell, drove her to Oaklawn Hospital in Marshall, Michigan, to give birth to their second child. It had been a routine pregnancy, but she told her doctor she’d recently developed a sore throat, aches, coughing and shortness of breath — symptoms her provider knew could indicate COVID-19. So, when she arrived at the hospital, she was taken to an isolation area, tested for the coronavirus and given oxygen. She took shallow, panting breaths as she delivered her daughter on March 23 in about five hours. (Aleccia and Ungar, 4/24)

The Hill:
Pandemic Sparks Concerns About Surging STD, HIV Rates
The pandemic that has upended life in the U.S. could lead to increased STD rates and setbacks in the fight against HIV as public health resources are shifted to the coronavirus response. Access to STD and HIV testing and treatment services are dwindling as local health departments shuffle staff to respond to COVID-19 and clinics reduce hours or close altogether and cancel outreach programs. “We are seeing a complete disruption to STD prevention here in the United States,” said David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD). “We expect to experience even higher STD rates as a result.” (Hellmann, 4/23)

The New York Times:
Goggles, Masks, Ponchos: Air Travel In The Days Of The Coronavirus
The thought of getting on a plane is far from most people’s minds at the moment, as they shelter in their homes. But some people have no choice but to fly now, whether it is returning from a long trip or rushing to leave a country as a visa expires. In the days of the coronavirus, travelers are often taking extreme precautions to protect themselves. They wear anything from plastic ponchos to laboratory goggles to biohazard suits. They wipe down tray tables and arm rests with disinfectant. (Lin and Fuller, 4/23)

More than 70 countries have restricted exports of medical supplies, putting Africa in peril, the U.N. says. Now, African countries are pooling efforts, but richer countries outbid them for equipment. Ten African countries have no ventilators. Media outlets report on news from China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, as well.

The Associated Press:
Africa Dangerously Behind In Global Race For Virus Gear
As Africa braces for a surge in coronavirus cases, its countries are dangerously behind in the global race for scarce medical equipment. Ten nations have no ventilators at all. Outbid by richer countries, and not receiving medical gear from top aid donor the United States, African officials scramble for solutions as virus cases climb past 25,000. Even in the best scenario, the United Nations says 74 million test kits and 30,000 ventilators will be needed by the continent’s 1.3 billion people this year. Very few are in hand. (Anna, 4/24)

The Washington Post:
India Coronavirus: Muslims Blamed For Outbreak As World Looks For Covid-19 Scapegoats
On a bright morning earlier this month, a former army officer was riding his motorcycle down a rural road south of India’s capital when he reached an improvised barricade. He had no idea the villagers were looking for a scapegoat. He slowed his bike to a stop. The men at the barricade quickly identified him as a Muslim from the neighboring area in the state of Haryana. “These people are spreading the coronavirus,” said one of the villagers, according to a police complaint filed by the man’s family. “Grab him.” (Slater and Masih, 4/23)

The Wall Street Journal:
Chinese Health Care In The Post-Pandemic World
China has near-universal health insurance and the world’s most powerful surveillance state, yet it still failed to contain the initial spread of the new coronavirus in Wuhan. The disaster is bound to prompt some soul searching. Two trends look likely to gain steam: the rapid expansion of commercial health insurance and burgeoning online health-care services. (Taplin, 4/24)

The Wall Street Journal:
Vietnam’s Coronavirus Recovery Is As Good As It Gets For Emerging Economies
Vietnam became one of the first countries in the world to ease social distancing measures this week. But its impressive public health response to the coronavirus pandemic only serves to underline the financial constraints it and other developing nations face in responding to the economic fallout. The government has reported fewer than 300 cases of Covid-19 and no deaths. Unlike other low income countries with minimal diagnostic capacity, Vietnam has conducted more than 180,000 tests. (Bird, 4/24)

Undark:
The Myth Of The Disease-Spreading Migrant
On a crisp morning last fall in Tijuana, Mexico, psychologist Diana Hernández knocked on the metal doors of Movimiento Juventud 2000, one of several migrant shelters in this border city. Hernández was there as part of a four-person team of municipal workers tending to the needs of some of Tijuana’s thousands of migrants whose lives are in limbo while they wait to request asylum in the United States or to attend the court hearings that will determine the fate of their asylum requests. (Medrano, 4/22)

Politico:
Another Time A President Used The 'Emergency' Excuse To Restrict Immigration
This week, with over 40,000 American lives lost to Covid-19, hundreds of thousands more battling the disease—with the U.S. economy at a near-complete standstill and the government printing money at an unprecedented clip to keep people fed and sheltered—Donald Trump announced plans to mobilize the full powers of the presidency. Not to bring order to the 50-state frenzy for medical supplies, or marshal the resources of the government to increase coronavirus testing. Instead, he’s seizing the moment to close borders. “In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!” Trump tweeted on Monday night. (Zeitz, 4/22)

Vox:
The 4 Plans To End Social Distancing In The US, Explained
If there is any agreement with the coronavirus pandemic, it’s this: Everyone is looking forward to ending social distancing and reopening the economy. President Donald Trump has loudly advocated for it, sometimes in defiance of public health experts. Other officials, like former Vice President Joe Biden, and experts agree that they want the economy to reopen, but they’re more cautious with making any promises about when and how. (Lopez, 4/14)

The New York Times:
How Scientists Could Stop The Next Pandemic Before It Starts
On a cold morning in February 2018, a group of 30 microbiologists, zoologists and public-health experts from around the world met at the headquarters of the World Health Organization in Geneva. The group was established by the W.H.O. in 2015 to create a priority list of dangerous viruses — specifically, those for which no vaccines or drugs were already in development. The consensus, at least among those in the room, was that as populations and global travel continued to grow and development increasingly pushed into wild areas, it was almost inevitable that once-containable local outbreaks, like SARS or Ebola, could become global disasters. (Kahn, 4/21)

Wired:
What Does Covid-19 Do To Your Brain?
During the third week of March, as the pandemic coronavirus that causes Covid-19 was beginning to grip the city of Detroit, an ambulance sped through its streets to Henry Ford Hospital. Inside, a 58-year-old airline worker struggled to understand what was happening to her. Like hundreds of other Covid-19 patients flooding the city’s emergency rooms, the woman had a fever, cough, and aching muscles. But something else was happening too—something that had made her suddenly disoriented, unable to remember anything but her name. (Molteni, 4/15)

Stat:
An FDA Tool To Hasten Approvals Isn't Useful For Breast Cancer Drugs
Nearly two years ago, the Food and Drug Administration published a table of surrogate endpoints that drug developers could reference as they chart a course for winning regulatory approval. But a new study suggested there is a problem — the table fails to provide sufficient evidence that the endpoints listed actually offer improved overall survival in breast cancer patients. Due to “weak or missing correlations” with overall survival, the researchers argued that in most cases, treatments for breast cancer should be granted so-called accelerated approval, a move reserved for medicines that can serve unmet needs. Why? Accelerated approvals require drug makers to conduct followup studies to confirm clinical benefits. (Silverman, 4/17)

Los Angeles Times:
Wait, Trump Wants To 'LIBERATE' Michigan But Not Georgia?
By now we should all be inured to the whiplash-inducing comments of President Trump, who, as my father used to say, could screw up an iron ball. Just last week he was tweeting his support to armed anti-government activists and conservative protesters seeking an end to stay-at-home orders in three states with Democratic governors: Michigan, Virginia and Minnesota. The president also, contradicting his top health advisors, says he wants an early resumption of normal business and social activity. Well, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican Trump backer, seemed to take the president seriously (silly man) and announced that Georgia would begin rolling back stay-at-home restrictions, just the kind of move demanded by the folks Trump encouraged to “LIBERATE” (the all-caps were his) other states. Trump’s response to Kemp’s move? “I want him to do what he thinks is right, but I disagree with him on what he is doing,” Trump said late Wednesday. “I think it’s too soon.” (Scott Martelle, 4/23)

Houston Chronicle:
Reopen Texas Economy Cautiously, Second COVID-19 Wave Would Devastate
We need to get back to work, but rushing to restart the economy and reigniting the coronavirus pandemic would be the worst possible thing for our economic future.Undoubtedly, the world is on a precipice. The U.S. economy likely contracted 7.1 percent year-over-year in the first three months of 2020. It will plunge 35 percent in the second quarter, according to S&P Global Ratings, a financial analysis and consulting firm. (Chris Tomlinson, 4/24)

The New York Times:
Facing The Coronavirus, Republicans Aren't So Pro-Life After All
I look at the numbers every day, sometimes every hour, sometimes before dawn. China is not to be trusted. Nor is Russia. I’m always curious about the latest death toll out of Sweden, a country with a riskier, more self-regulated approach to keeping people apart. And cheers for long-suffering bell’Italia, finally seeing a drop in active Covid-19 cases. All of us want the same thing — a road map to the way out. The scientific consensus is clear and not that complicated: We need a significant upgrade of testing, contact tracing to track the infected, nuanced and dutiful social isolation, all to buy time until a vaccine is developed. (Timothy Egan, 4/24)

Boston Globe:
Can We Hold On To The Lesson Of Communal Responsibility That The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Teaching?
Today we are just beginning to grasp the dislocations COVID-19 will wreak upon the nation. If a single untimely death like my grandfather’s can derail a family for decades, it’s stunning to think how painfully tens of thousands of COVID-19 fatalities will ripple through society. The anguish of lost jobs, the corrosive worry about falling ill or paying the rent, the deferred medical appointments, the disrupted educations, the social dislocation, the psychological toll of isolation and despair — these echoes of the coronavirus will be with us long after a vaccine is found. (Renée Loth, 4/24)

New England Journal of Medicine:
Ten Weeks To Crush The Curve
The President says we are at war with the coronavirus. It’s a war we should fight to win. The economy is in the tank, and anywhere from thousands to more than a million American lives are in jeopardy. Most analyses of options and trade-offs assume that both the pandemic and the economic setback must play out over a period of many months for the pandemic and even longer for economic recovery. However, as the economists would say, there is a dominant option, one that simultaneously limits fatalities and gets the economy cranking again in a sustainable way. That choice begins with a forceful, focused campaign to eradicate Covid-19 in the United States. The aim is not to flatten the curve; the goal is to crush the curve. China did this in Wuhan. We can do it across this country in 10 weeks. (Harvey V. Fineberg, 4/23)

Stat:
Our Hospital's Community Management Strategy For Covid-19 Works
The Covid-19 pandemic is overwhelming hospital and emergency response systems in the U.S., much as it did in Italy. Even with current efforts to increase the number of inpatient beds, some communities will fall short of having enough beds to manage all of the patients with Covid-19. The community-based approach that our hospital has implemented can help. (Janice John, Leah Zallman and Jessamyn Blau, 4/23)

The Washington Post:
I Live In Britain. Thank Goodness There’s No Fox News Here.
The United Kingdom and the United States are both hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Both countries are run by populist blowhards whose larger-than-life hair and egos are inversely proportional to their regard for expertise. And both of those leaders badly botched the crucial early months, failing to prepare testing or protective equipment as the disease silently spread unchecked through populations on both sides of the Atlantic. But there’s something very different about life in Britain in the time of the novel coronavirus: There’s no Fox News here. Thank goodness for that. (Brian Klaas, 4/22)

The Hill:
Protecting Household Employers And Workers During The COVID-19 Pandemic
As it extends aid to people put out of work by the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government could be doing more to help one group of employers and the vital American workers they employ: Hundreds of thousands of nannies, housekeepers and others employed in private homes. Starting April 3, millions of small businesses became eligible to apply for forgivable loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which aims to reduce the number of employees who are laid off from small businesses that cannot meet their payrolls... But the SBA’s interim final rule excludes household employers. (Shanthi Nataraj and Krishna B. Kumar, 4/22)

The Hill:
Challenge China And The WHO—But Not While The Pandemic Rages
Leave it to the administration. Even when it articulates a sensible strategy, it blows the timing. And is utterly tone-deaf, paying not the slightest attention to what anyone else believes. Or is willing to accept. Such is the campaign against China and the World Health Organization (WHO) over their failures in dealing with COVID-19. (Doug Bandow, 4/23)

Boston Globe:
The Assault On Women’s Abortion Rights
As the nation deals with the coronavirus pandemic, women’s reproductive rights are under assault, with Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas seeking to deny abortions. Legislatures in those states are top-heavy with men who will never face the dilemma women confront when faced with an unintended pregnancy. (Mary Ann Sorrentino, 4/23)

Detroit Free Press:
COVID-19's Effects Show Our Leaders Little From The Flint Water Crisis
Saturday marks the sixth anniversary of the day the City of Flint switched its water supply source to the Flint River, systematically poisoning its heavily black population. The fallout from that fateful decision includes the lead poisoning of more than 25,000 children, many of whom now struggle daily with long-term developmental delays, learning disabilities, behavioral problems and brain damage as a result.This occasion arrives amid a historic pandemic that is ravaging black Americans at a disproportionate rate. Black Americans are 133% more likely to contract COVID-19, with deadly consequences. While black people make up only 14% of Michigan’s population, they account for 40% of COVID-19 deaths. (Ben Crump, 4/24)

The Washington Post:
Here Are The Innovations We Need To Reopen The Economy
It’s entirely understandable that the national conversation has turned to a single question: “When can we get back to normal?” The shutdown has caused immeasurable pain in jobs lost, people isolated and worsening inequity. People are ready to get going again.Unfortunately, although we have the will, we don’t have the way — not yet. Before the United States and other countries can return to business and life as usual, we will need some innovative new tools that help us detect, treat and prevent covid-19. (Bill Gates, 4/23)

The Washington Post:
The Lessons From Trump’s Reckless Recommendation Of Hydroxychloroquine
The frenzy over the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine is probably not the last time someone will dangle the prospect of a miracle cure for covid-19. More wild claims and false starts can be expected. That is why it is important to grasp the lessons of President Trump’s reckless recommendation of a drug without evidence of efficacy. Especially at a time of grave distress, the lesson is: Demand evidence, seek proof and don’t listen to quacks anywhere. (4/23)

JAMA:
Information Technology–Based Tracing Strategy In Response To COVID-19 In South Korea—Privacy Controversies
Amid the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, South Korea was one of the next countries after China to be affected by the disease. Confirmed cases in Korea were first reported on January 20, 2020, and spiked from February 20 to 29, 2020. Instead of deploying aggressive measures such as immigration control, lockdown, or roadblocks, South Korea mounted a trace, test, and treat strategy. This was made possible by the preparations that the country had made after the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak of 2015. South Korea extensively utilized the country’s advanced information technology (IT) system for tracing individuals suspected to be infected or who had been in contact with an infected person. Such measures helped flatten the curve of newly confirmed cases and deaths around mid-March. As of April 21, 2020, there had been 10 683 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Korea, with a total of 2233 patients who are in isolation because of hospitalization or quarantine, and a total of 237 deaths. However, important concerns have been raised over privacy involving the tracing strategy. (Sangchul Park, Gina Jeehyun Choi, and Haksoo Ko, 4/23)

Stat:
A 'Swiss Cheese' Approach Can Help Contain Covid-19
Fifteen years ago, in response to the threat of H5N1 avian influenza, my team at the White House developed the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza. We recognized that the world would have to make its way through the first wave of a pandemic, and possibly the second wave, without a vaccine. (Rajeev Venkayya, 4/24)

The Hill:
Slow Science Is Better Science
Is science being done the right way during this pandemic? With the rush to find solutions to combat the spread of COVID-19, there has been a surge in scientific findings being released to the public without going through the normal peer-review process — a hallmark of academic research writing to ensure the information is accurate. (Marlone Henderson and Art Markman, 4/23)

CNN:
What A Sugar Cube Can Teach Us As We Develop A Coronavirus Vaccine
As a kid, I remember my mother taking me to "get my shot." I whined my way into the doctor's office, fully expecting a sharp, pointy needle. To my joyous discovery, the vaccine I received came in the form of a sugar cube. I happily gobbled it down, and in the process received life-long protection from polio.A half century later, this memory resurfaced after a conversation with a reporter about Covid-19. (Michael S. Kinch, 4/23)

Stat:
I Had To Call People Whose Covid-19 Tests Were Positive. It Taught Me A Lot
As part of my work as an emergency medicine resident, I began a rotation in the second week of March as the physician charged with telling patients about their lab results. That once meant calling people to let them know about positive urine cultures or incidental findings on imaging. The emergence of Covid-19 dramatically changed what I do. (Caroline Schulman, 4/24)

The Hill:
Thousands Of Americans Will Face Food Insecurity, Unless We Act Now
The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to touch its critical mass, and yet, 21 million people have already lost their jobs. In Hawaii, Michigan and Rhode Island, one in five workers have lost employment. Although some families may be able to deal with the financial damage caused by the pandemic, others will face extreme hardship. This includes families of color and single-parent households who may be thrust into poverty until the economy recovers from this public health crisis. (Hussain Lalani and Jacquelyn Corley, 4/23)

The Hill:
Export Bans On Medical Supplies Can Be Lethal
Panic spread by crises is lethal to sound policymaking. And perhaps no policy pursued today is more unsound than bans on the exportation of medical supplies. Such export bans now cover most of the Eurasian continent, and a member of Congress is urging their use in the United States. Don’t. Please don’t. Even ignoring (which we shouldn’t) the ill effects inflicted on non-Americans, such a ban in the United States would eventually reduce access to medical supplies for Americans. (Donald J. Boudreaux and Veronique De Rugy, 4/23)

The New York Times:
We’re All Grieving. This Is How We Get Through It.
Anxiety, dread, depression — these are just some of the emotions that hit us as we shelter in place and as death tolls rise. In the Video Op-Ed above, the psychotherapist Esther Perel coaches us through the losses and collective grief we are experiencing. While therapists rarely divulge personal experience, Ms. Perel offers a rare glimpse into how she processes this crisis, as a mother, a member of the at-risk population and the child of two Holocaust survivors. (Esther Perel, 4/22)

Los Angeles Times:
We All Need To Shake Off The Pandemic, Literally
Eight years ago, when my boyfriend and I started dancing in our living room after dinner, little did we think our somewhat eccentric pastime would sweep the nation. But if social media are any gauge , dancing at home is the coronavirus pandemic’s bathtub gin. Confined to the all-too-familiar patch of steel and plaster we call home, Americans are sashaying and kick-ball changing our sadness and fear away. Families are erupting into tiny pageants of jazz hands. A dance challenge started by the video-sharing app TikTok, meant to promote social distancing, has drawn more than 4.6 billion views. Videos from LeBron James, Mark Wahlberg and Judd Apatow suggest that now may be the best time ever to see heterosexual men tangle with precision choreography. (Henry Alford, 4/21)

The New York Times:
What To Say (And Not Say) To Workers On The Front Lines
“How are you doing?” a text message alert on my phone reads. “Thinking of you.” I’m a doctor caring for Covid-19 patients in the intensive care unit of a New York City hospital. I’m OK, I tell my friends and family. But OK is a relative term. Physically, aside from fatigue and a raw nose bridge, I am fine. Emotionally, my work has a sense of vital purpose. Even tending to the dying, as hard as it is, has a moral clarity that lifts my spirit. To dignify another human in such extremis is why I became a physician. (Colleen Farrell, 4/23)

Cincinnati Enquirer:
Expand Eligibility For Prison Release In Light Of Pandemic
Twenty percent of Ohio cases of COVID-19 are in Marion Correctional Institution, according to news sources. That so many affected individuals are in a prison accentuates the difficult reality of the vulnerability of the imprisoned population and should cause us to reflect that a criminal conviction and a prison sentence should not constitute an automatic death sentence. (Fanon Rucker, 4/23)

Stat:
Reshaping Health Care In The Aftermath Of Covid-19
I’m a doctor who treats patients with Covid-19 in the emergency department and the intensive care unit. So it’s no surprise that people often ask me how I’m doing these days. I’m a lot of things. I’m honored that patients trust me with their lives... I am also really, really angry. (Keith Corl, 4/23)

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